Cristiano Ronaldo could make a shocking return to Real Madrid this summer – with the Spanish club keen on a reunion with the Portuguese star.
The 37-year-old has delivered another superb season of goals at Manchester United after his £12.85m move from Juventus last summer.
Despite the club’s disappointing form, Ronaldo has scored 23 goals – 17 in the Premier League – despite playing in a poor team.
His displays in England has caused a stir at the Bernabeu with influential key figures at Real Madrid wanting a Ronaldo return knowing he’ll bring guaranteed goals in La Liga.
And although he signed a two year contract, with the option of an extra year when he returned from Italy, the landscape has changed so much at Old Trafford in the last seven months Ronaldo’s future in Manchester is now uncertain.
United are preparing for their third manager in less than a calendar year with Ajax manager Erik ten Hag ready to start a major rebuild this summer after Solskjaer was sacked in November and replaced by Ralf Rangnick.
While Madrid would take him back this summer and give him plenty of playing time next campaign, it’s unclear whether Ten Hag views the attacker as key to United’s immediate future. And Solskjaer and Rangnick hardly ever left Ronaldo out when he was fit.
But Ten Hag is planning a new United future built on high energy and youth – and Ronaldo may not be guaranteed to play every game. That won’t sit well with the United legend who can point to his goal record in a dismal United team as evidence he deserves to be the first name on the team-sheet.
The Portuguese star scored his 100th Premier League goal in the 3-1 defeat at Arsenal and followed up in midweek with the equaliser which earned the Red devils a 1-1 draw with Chelsea.
When he returned for his second spell at the club after a 12 year gap, Ronaldo envisaged a different campaign to the one which has unfolded at the club. He believed United would close the gap on Man City and Liverpool and challenge for trophies but none of that has happened.
Instead, United have largely been poor and damaging recent defeats by City, Everton, Liverpool and Arsenal have killed off Rangnick’s hopes of handing Ten Hag a place in the UEFA Champions League next season.
With just three matches left of a disastrous season for United, Ronaldo has plenty of thinking to do. And top of his agenda will be assurances from Ten Hag that he’ll play many games if he’s fit – a promise the Dutchman may not be able to make.
