2 years ago
Sporting has initiated contact in an effort to lure Cristiano Ronaldo back to the club, which is a shocking move on their part.
After 13 years away, Ronaldo returned to Manchester United last summer, and despite the team's miserable season, he managed to make an impression.
The five-time winner of the Ballon d'Or scored 24 goals in his first season back with the Premier League club, but Ronaldo is apparently concerned about their lack of success and the troubling delay in strengthening in the summer market.
A meeting between Jorge Mendes and Chelsea's incoming owner is rumored to have already taken place after reports surfaced a few days ago claiming that he was prepared to leave the team.
If Ronaldo is permitted to leave Old Trafford, a number of teams will be interested in signing him, including Sporting, the team he left in 2003 for Manchester.
In a 2002 match between Sporting and Wolves, Ronaldo played. Picture
The Sun reports that the club has already spoken to the 37-year-old and that "Sporting know that Ronaldo loves winning trophies."
"That seems far off at United right now, and time is running out to Ronaldo.
"So returning home and playing in Portugal would be the ideal way for him to cap off his career.
"Both the league and the way of life are excellent.
Senior officials have inquired and informed Ronaldo that they would be interested in having him depart United.
Despite his goals, Ronaldo's first season back in England wasn't a joyful one. Since Jose Mourinho, who wants the player at Roma, left the north-west of England in December 2018, United have unquestionably appeared to be lacking in trophy success.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's club did make it to a few semi-finals and the Europa League final in 2021, but last season the team didn't appear to be in contention for any hardware.
They were eliminated from the FA Cup fourth round, Carabao Cup third round, and last 16 of the Champions League with just one knockout game won, finishing 35 points behind league champion Manchester City.
Ronaldo won't play in the Champions League for the first time in a very long time because United couldn't even win the fourth-place "award" after finishing 13 points behind fourth-place Tottenham Hotspur.
The last thing Erik ten Hag needs is for Ronaldo to leave United; he already has a lot on his plate. Manutd Image
Sporting at least came in second place, just six points behind champions Benfica, and won the League Cup in Portugal. They appear to have a better chance than Erik ten Hag's team.
They currently appear to have a better chance of winning more hardware than Erik ten Hag's team.
Ronaldo has been associated with his previous team before; in April 2021, it was reported that they will try to get Real Madrid's all-time leading scorer to return.
Dolores Aveiro, the mother of the footballer, allegedly stated, "I'm going to talk to him when I get to Turin. I'll persuade him to come back, and he'll play in Alvalade the following year."
Of course, he left Turin, but he went to Manchester instead. Perhaps his mother wishes she had convinced him to return to Sporting rather than Manchester...
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