Rumours have circulated for weeks and months that Real Madrid megastar Cristiano Ronaldo has been looking to leave Spain, but one former teammate from his days at Old Trafford believes CR7 won’t be returning to Manchester United in the foreseeable future.
In an interview with BreatheSport reported by the Metro, Rio Ferdinand stated that Ronaldo’s desire to dominate and win the Champions League drives him, and as a result will likely keep him far away from the seldom-contending Man United.
“The biggest thing about it is that he is competing to win the league and Champions League every year,” Ferdinand said.
“The Champions League is his holy grail. Does he see himself doing that at Man United immediately?
“He doesn’t have time to waste. He hasn’t got time for a transitional period. So that ends the conversation.”
As a defender, Ferdinand won the Champions League together with Ronaldo during the 2007-08 season. However, since that season Man United have not won the Champions League, finishing as the runner-up in 2009 and 2011, and failing to make it past the quarter-finals in four of the last six seasons. The 2014-15 season was the first time since 1989 that the Red Devils did not even qualify for a major UEFA tournament.
Ronaldo would transfer to Real Madrid the year after Man United’s last Champions League win and won the tournament against in the 2013-14 season. The Portuguese star is all-time leading scorer in the Champions League with 82 career goals in the tournament.