For several years now Cristiano Ronaldo has been linked with a move back to Manchester United. His name is still chanted at every away game and there are some United fans who are convinced that if Sir Alex Ferguson had not retired that Ronaldo would have returned to United in the summer of 2013.
With a transfer ban looming at Real Madrid, the club are desperate to move on the three-time Ballon d’Or winner so they can rebuild a side that is falling further and further behind bitter rivals Barcelona.
According to The Express, Real Madrid have let United know that they can sign the 31-year-old for a relatively speaking bargain price of £48m.
While his transfer fee will be low, Ronaldo’s wages will not as he reportedly wants £16-20m a year, which would make is the Real star the highest paid player in the Premier League.
That title currently belongs to Wayne Rooney, with Ronaldo’s former teammate at Old Trafford currently earning £300,000-a-week. A salary of £16m would put the Portuguese forward around the same mark, while the higher end of the estimate would see him making an eye-watering £384,000-a-week.
While Ronaldo has slipped slightly over the last 18 months, he is still one of the best five players in the world, scoring more goals in both La Liga and the Champions League this season than any other player, including Lionel Messi.
One of the deciding factors in whether Ronaldo ends up in Manchester next season or Paris will be who the United manager is. If Jose Mourinho is the new United manager it’s hard to imagine them being at the same club again, considering the bad blood that exists between them. In Guillem Balague’s new Ronaldo biography he suggests they almost came to blows during a row about tracking back.
If van Gaal has not hung up his giant notepad, the door for a Ronaldo return would certainly be more open, but whether Ronaldo would want to work under him remains to be seen.
So you think we will see Ronaldo back at United next season?
