Former Bayern Munich captain Lothar Matthaus thinks Cristiano Ronaldo would be an ideal replacement for Barcelona-linked striker Robert Lewandowski, and has described the potential capture of the Manchester United star as a "sexy" move.
GOAL has reported that Ronaldo has informed United officials he wants a summer transfer, less than one year after returning to the club from Juventus in a £20 million ($24m) deal.
The Red Devils dropped into the Europa League after a dismal 2021-22 campaign, and the 37-year-old striker is eager to keep playing Champions League football with a view to adding even more silverware to his glittering CV before retirement.
Could Ronaldo replace Lewandowski at Bayern?
Bayern are also in danger of losing their top scorer, with Lewandowski having publicly admitted that he is eager to take on a new challenge away from Allianz Arena.
The German champions have insisted that the Poland international will see out the final year of his contract, but Barcelona are reportedly pushing hard for his signature, and a spot will open up through the middle if he does depart in the coming weeks.
Ronaldo has been touted for a possible switch to Bayern among a whole host of top clubs, and Matthaus feels his old club should seriously consider bringing the five-time Ballon d'Or winner onto their books.
"Ronaldo to Bayern would be sexy! At least you should think through the options and play through them once," he wrote in his latest column for Sky Germany.
"If you at Bayern are of the opinion that Cristiano Ronaldo is still physically able to really help for a year or two and that you can invest the transfer fee generated for Lewandowski more or less one-to-one in the Portuguese megastar, I would think about it."
Ronaldo to complete new-look Bayern attack?
If Ronaldo was to head to Allianz Arena, he would become the second man to make the switch from the Premier League to Bayern this summer after Sadio Mane.
The Liverpool man is set to line up alongside the likes of Thomas Muller and Kingsley Coman next season after sealing a €41 million (£35m/$43m) transfer, and Matthaus can see Ronaldo completing Bayern's new-look attack.
The World Cup winner did, however, also warn that Serge Gnabry may need to be sold to make Ronaldo's arrival financially viable.
"If he is "satisfied" with a salary similar to that of Lewandowski, one could embark on the Ronaldo hype. Then Nagelsmann would have two great German internationals in central midfield and really good backups," Matthaus added.
"On the offensive, Bayern could score an incredible number of goals with Mane, Muller, Ronaldo and Kingsley Coman.
"Here, too, the pressure of competition and performance would be extremely high for everyone and nobody could rest. Maybe Gnabry will leave the club, and then financially everything would be reasonable."