Roma chief Tiago Pinto has insisted that his side never held an interest in signing Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo over the summer.
The 37-year-old is understood to have informed Man United of his desire to leave at the end of last season, having failed to lead the club into the Champions League.
However, Ronaldo was unable to secure a move elsewhere and stayed put at Old Trafford, where he remains under contract until the end of the season.
Ronaldo has struggled to force his way into Erik ten Hag's first XI on a regular basis, though, and he recently blasted various aspects of the club in a recent interview with Piers Morgan.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has likely played his final game for Man United after the publication of the interview, leaving his immediate future shrouded in uncertainty.
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Former Man United and Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho was tipped to reunite with Ronaldo at Roma, but director of football Pinto has insisted that a move was never on the cards.
"One of the things that irritates me about Italy is that they are constantly talking about the transfer market," Pinto told the press at the recent Thinking Football Summit in Portugal.
"The truth is that Cristiano Ronaldo was never a possibility. These rumours had no foundation, but in Italy they talk every day about three different players linked with your club.
"I understand it was natural to link us because Mourinho and I are both Portuguese, and so is Cristiano, but as I said, there was never any substance in it."
During his TalkTV interview with Morgan, Ronaldo claimed that he felt "betrayed" and was being pushed out of the club by various members of the Man United hierarchy, including Ten Hag.
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The Portugal international insisted that he held no respect for the Dutchman and claimed that he has seen zero progress at Man United since he left for Real Madrid 13 years ago.
Ten Hag has reportedly told Old Trafford chiefs that Ronaldo should never play for the club again in the wake of his interview, and the club have announced that they have initiated "appropriate steps" in response.
The Red Devils are thought to be confident of sacking Ronaldo if he is found to be in breach of his contract, and they are also rumoured to be planning to sue the attacker if they can prove that his comments have had negative financial consequences on the club.
Sporting Lisbon and Chelsea are among the few clubs to have been linked with a move for Ronaldo, and the Blues have supposedly performed a U-turn on their stance on the Man United man after former manager Thomas Tuchel vetoed a move.
Ronaldo is expected to make his return to competitive action from illness when Portugal take on Ghana in their World Cup 2022 Group H opener on Thursday.
Ben Knapton
