Linked with a move away from Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo has thrown cold water over the latest batch of rumors addressing the possibility of the Portuguese international returning to his boyhood club Sporting Clube de Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s future remains up in the air. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner does not want to stay at Manchester United with the club set to miss out on UEFA Champions League football next season – so say the reports. However, the 37-year-old is short of suitors, too; Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and Napoli have all been linked but none are likely to move forward with a proposed transfer.
Enter his former team Sporting Clube de Portugal. According to reports from Portugal, Sporting are preparing a proposal to present to Manchester United to take the 37-year-old off their hands for one season on loan. Those in the club hierarchy, too have expressed their interest in bringing the star back to the place of his formative years; quotes from president Frederico Varrandas from a year ago express the same.
“I believe that he will come back one day. Ronaldo has always supported Sporting. He was one of the first people to send me a message of congratulations for winning the league,” he said.
However, throwing cold water over the reports of yet another homecoming was Ronaldo himself. Commenting on an Instagram post of Sport TV Portugal, which claimed a car leaving from the club’s Jose Alvalade Stadium belonged to him, the Manchester United man called out the rumors of his return to Sporting. He simply wrote “Fake” below the post in question, dismissing the links of late.
Now 37, the Portugal international is nearing a millennium of appearances on a domestic level; his record stands at 698 goals from 935 career appearances.