PSG signing Ronaldo? They're simply not at his level

The French champions are keen to buy the Portuguese forward next summer but did little to convince him against a weakened Real Madrid side at the Parc des Princes.

It is the worst-kept secret in football. Paris Saint-Germain wants to make Cristiano Ronaldo the cornerstone of a new project which it hopes can take the club to the next level among the European elite. But on this evidence, PSG doesn't look good enough to tempt the three-time Ballon d'Or winner to the City of Light.

Just over a year ago, PSG was excellent as it inflicted a first defeat upon Luis Enrique's Barcelona in a 3-2 success at the Parc des Princes, but against a weakened Madrid side on Wednesday it rarely looked liked handing Rafa Benitez his first loss since taking over at Real.

Madrid, without the injured Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, James Rodriguez, Pepe, Dani Carvajal and Niko Kovacic, was forced to pick an under-strength side for this one. Luka Modric, recently recovered from an adductor problem, was left on the bench, while Sergio Ramos played through the pain after an injection in his shoulder.

Nevertheless, it was Real - and not PSG - which dominated the first half, creating chaos in the home side's area on several occasions. And it was Ronaldo who came closest with a header pushed over the crossbar by PSG goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.

The second half was much more even, but clear-cut chances were at a premium. Again, Cristiano came closer than anyone, his angled drive missing by inches at the far post. The Portuguese did not have his best night, but he still shone in a team deprived of so many first-choice footballers and with players like Jese and Lucas Vazquez promoted to the starting lineup.

By comparison, PSG's stars were disappointing. Di Maria still seems out of sorts ever since he left Madrid for Manchester United in the summer of 2014, Zlatan Ibrahimovic once again failed to make his mark on a big European game and Edinson Cavani seldom looks like a top striker against this kind of opposition.

PSG's midfield trio of Blaise Matuidi, Thiago Motta and Marco Verratti did do better and Laurent Blanc's side look well balanced in that department, but it remains to be seen how long they can hold on to the Italian who is wanted by both Barcelona and Real among others.

For his part, Madrid's France defender Raphael Varane claimed he had joined the Spanish side over PSG in 2011 because he had not been convinced by the Parisian project.

It is fair to say Ronaldo won't be either after what he witnessed on Wednesday. The Portuguese has won only one Champions League at Real Madrid, but knows he is in the best place possible to add to that tally.

The coach who masterminded that triumph by bringing La Decima to the Santiago Bernabeu, Carlo Ancelotti, exclusively told Goal that PSG (the club he coached before moving to Real) could go on to win the Champions League this season.

He did, however, add a caveat that they would need things to go well for them and compared to Barca, Bayern Munich and Real, the French side still seems some way short of what is needed at this level - especially in a two-legged knockout series against one of those teams.

Would Ronaldo improve them? Of course he would. But he would probably want to see some more progress in Europe before contemplating a move to Paris for the final few seasons of his extraordinary playing career.

"I love everything about Ronaldo," Blanc said before this game. "He is one of the two extraterrestrials gracing modern football."

However, if PSG is serious about the Portuguese gracing the green grass at the Parc des Princes from next summer or at some stage after that, Wednesday's performance showed that there is still plenty of work to be done before Cristiano considers changing Madrid for Paris.