Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain was speculated to have placed an £85 million bid on Monday for the transfer of Real Madrid's superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo from the Bernabéu to Parc des Princes.
The rumor arose in the midst of the formality of Les Parisiens' signing of Argentine winger Ángel Di María from Manchester United this week.
It was reported by a Middle Eastern media group that the owners of both Los Blancos and Les Rouge-et-Bleu met in Madrid this month to discuss the potential transfer of the Portugal national team captain.
However, the Mirror indicated that PSG right away denied the gossip of what would have been a record-smashing signing as team president Nasser Al-Khelaifi told reporters that the Ronaldo deal was "quite untrue."
Another speculated suitor of the reigning two consecutive FIFA Ballon d'Or winner is Louis van Gaal's Manchester United.
The Dutch coach said that they could not afford Ronaldo, though, and the team may have to wait for a couple of years before they could sign him. But he admitted that United needs someone like Cristiano and that he would have liked to acquire him before he retires in 2017.
Meanwhile, a report from the Daily Mail Online said that the rumors were true and Real had actually rejected the £85-million bid from PSG for their ace striker.
PSG, with its wealthy Qatari owners, were said to have more than enough assets to buy away Ronaldo from Los Vikingos if the latter wants to but club president Florentino Pérez was firm that their prized footballer is not for sale.