Could he actually be leaving for real?
It seems possible. Ronaldo is currently in negotiations with Real Madrid over an improved contract, but they are struggling to come to an agreement.
According to reports in Spanish newspapers Mundo Deportivo and Sport, Ronaldo is demanding a base salary of £35m per year, but Madrid are reluctant to grant him his wish.
Ronaldo’s current contract runs out in 2021, and the forward turns 33 this February, so it is understandable that Madrid are wary of awarding the player an improved deal.
He has only scored four league goals this season, but the five-time Ballon d’Or winner wants to earn as much as Lionel Messi, who signed a new deal with Barcelona earlier this year.
The day has come.
Marca accept Manchester United don’t want Cristiano Ronaldo back. pic.twitter.com/XNwWa49DBm
— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) January 20, 2018
The usual links to a return to Manchester United for Ronaldo have circulated, but he might have cried wolf one too many times.
The Portuguese has often used the threat of returning to Manchester United as leverage when negotiating an improved contract at the Bernabeu, but it is less likely to work this time. Real Madrid may even be open to selling him in the summer, given his dip in form this season.
But would United want him back? For nostalgic reasons, maybe, but given how much they are about to invest in Alexis Sánchez, and the fact they’ve got much younger options out wide in Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford, Ronaldo would not be a priority.
Ronaldo may have to accept that he won’t get that improved deal as he enters the twilight of his career.
