Today's latest wild rumor, reported from numerous sources, is that Nike may be involved in machinations to push Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo to sign with Inter Milan, as soon as next summer.
Reports from goal.com, Il Corriere Del Sport, soccerlens, yahoo! and other outlets suggest that Nike, which sponsors Inter, wants to pair Ronaldo with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who already has his own a Nike deal. Reportedly, both Nike and Inter's main sponsor, Pirelli, are preparing to set aside funds to help acquire the player.
Of course, considering that Ronaldo is already playing for Nike-sponsored Manchester United last summer fended off bids reported to be as high as €90 million from Real Madrid (sponsored by Adidas), it is questionable whether the move will make financial sense for Nike -- even if Manchester United could be persuaded to sell.
And with Man Utd already ahead of Inter in terms of shirt sales and global popularity, the only way such a move even starts to make sense for Nike is to ensure that Ronaldo stays with a Nike-sponsored club, such as Inter or Barcelona, instead of moving to a club sponsored by a rival, as it appeared he might last summer.
