Mourinho bringing Ronaldo to Chelsea

Jose Mourinho will become manager of Chelsea in the summer - and he will bring Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo with him, according to a report in Sunday's papers.

The Sunday Express claims that Mourinho's return is a virtual certainty. Their claim is based on a leak provided by 'friends of Rafa Benitez', who has apparently confided in the said friends that the reason he has no future at Stamford Bridge is because the Mourinho deal is all but signed.

"Relations have now healed between owner Roman Abramovich and the charismatic Portuguese, who he sacked in 2007 after winning two Premier League titles," the paper reports.

"Abramovich believes Mourinho has unfinished business at Chelsea and is prepared to welcome him back – with the cheque book open...

"Once back in London he will do his best to lure former Manchester United star Ronaldo away from Spain. Mourinho knows that the 28-year-old isn’t content at Real and will test the water with a £60 million offer."

The Mail on Sunday also carries a Chelsea manager story, but with slightly different information: Mourinho is a contender, the paper claims, but Everton boss David Moyes is right beside the Portuguese manager at the top of the short list.

Malaga manager Manuel Pellegrini is also on the list, the Chilean - a former Real Madrid boss - having impressed by taking the cash-strapped club to the Champions League quarter-finals.

Chelsea may not be the only plum job on offer if it turns out that a report in the Sunday Mirror is accurate: Manchester City are said to be hovering an axe over the head of Roberto Mancini, with two of the most powerful men at the Etihad apparently far from convinced that the Italian can take the club any further.

"Mancini will shortly face an end-of-season review to determine whether he is the man to take the Blues forward," the paper reports. "And Frank De Boer, the 42-year-old Ajax coach, will be targeted by the Blues chief executive Ferran Soriano and sporting director Txiki ­Begiristain."

The Mail on Sunday reports that Rio Ferdinand is to be offered a new contract at Manchester United.

It seems Alex Ferguson will reward the defender's loyalty in turning down a recent England call-up by giving him "the opportunity to extend his playing career into his 36th year.

"The central defender is a free agent in June but United manager Sir Alex Ferguson views him in the same way as Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes — a senior player who can continue playing despite his age and can offer vital off-the-field leadership."

The Sun on Sunday reports that Steven Gerrard will be offered a new two-year deal extension at Liverpool on the exact same basis: "Brendan Rodgers believes Steven Gerrard can match Ryan Giggs’ amazing shelf life and carry on playing at the top level for years," the paper writes.

The Sunday Telegraph claims that Liverpool will make five signings in the summer: the names mentioned are Swansea City goalkeeper Michel Vorm and defender Ashley Williams, Newcastle United’s Hatem Ben Arfa, Ajax's Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen and Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who currently plays for Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk.

Martin O'Neill's sacking by Sunderland leads to speculation about the new boss, with the Shields Gazette reporting that Roberto Di Matteo, Steve McClaren and Mark Hughes are early favourites to step in to the hot seat.

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