Why all signs point towards Ronaldo return.
Manchester United have been linked once again with a sensational move to re-sign their former hero Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid, so here’s a look at five reasons it really could happen…
1) Benitez feud
It has become well publicised in the last week or so that Ronaldo and Rafael Benitez have already had something of a falling out. Loyal to his old friend Sir Alex Ferguson, it would be no surprise if the Portuguese star held a grudge against the former Liverpool boss and didn’t want to work under him. He even publicly backed Carlo Ancelotti before his sacking at Madrid in the summer.
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2) Money from Di Maria sale
United already have plenty of money to spend, but will have even more cash to play around with once a deal to sell Angel Di Maria to Paris Saint-Germain is finalised, with the Argentine flop set to bring in around £46m from his departure. Granted, that may only be about half of what Ronaldo would cost, but it’s something! The club have also made other sales this summer and could still offload the likes of David de Gea, Jonny Evans and Rafael for reasonable amounts of money.
3) No.7 shirt becoming available
A bigger factor than you might think, but United’s willingness to give up on Di Maria so quickly and make the famous number 7 shirt available this summer could mean that they have some confidence of pulling off this ambitious deal for Ronaldo. It seems unlikely that the 30-year-old would be happy to return to Old Trafford wearing any other shirt number, so this could be part of the process of luring him back.
4) United need goals
Quite simply, Ronaldo would be the best answer to a big problem up front for United. The Portuguese goal machine can play up front and would certainly be an upgrade on the club’s current options, with Wayne Rooney only netting 12 times last season while Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao have left after managing only 14 between them.
5) LVG promised a ‘mystery’ signing
He has a habit of pulling off some amazing deals, and Louis van Gaal has promised a ‘mystery’ signing for United this summer, strongly hinting that he needs another world class player. When asked about a move for Ronaldo, he didn’t exactly rule it out either, which really suggests there could be something going on behind the scenes.