Now the rest of the punters in the Football Transfer Tavern aren’t believing this one for one second but our Manchester United fans are daring to dream given the emotional connection they share with Cristiano Ronaldo.
The latest from The Mirror is that Manchester United are plotting a sensational world record breaking bid to bring their former Portuguese superstar back to Old Trafford for a second time in his professional career.
Ever since departing Old Trafford for the Bernabeu it seems, United have been continously linked with a transfer reunion for their former darling but could they really pull a deal off this time around?
To be honest, they probably can’t with Ronaldo tasked with spearheading an attack on the trophies again after a simply forgettable trophyless season that ensured Carlo Ancelotti was sacked last term.
Nevertheless, given the bond Ronaldo had with the United fans during his first spell at the club, a transfer reunion in the years to come cannot be ruled out by any stretch of the imagination.
Keeping along this theme, we’ve devised five reasons why the player himself would be keen on returning to Old Trafford one day in the near future.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo would want to return to Manchester United.
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A breakdown in relationship with Rafael Benitez
Now while it’s very early days in regards to the new reign of Rafael Benitez at Real Madrid, both he and Cristiano Ronaldo have already endured their first spat despite the former Liverpool manager playing it down of late.
The spat surrounded Ronaldo being unimpressed with a crossbar challenge task as set by Benitez on their International Champions Cup commitments with lip reading experts claiming Ronaldo called the game ‘s***’ while the club should be concentrating their efforts on putting the ball into the net rather than striking the bar.
Now while the press will of course make a mountain out of a molehill on stories or non-stories such as this, what we can imagine is a power struggle of sorts between both Benitez and Ronaldo.
Everybody knows Ronaldo’s ego is of Texan proportions and while Benitez is a vastly experienced coach, he wasn’t everybody’s ideal choice for the role and is arguably less prestigious than former boss Carlo Ancelotti who was respected by many of the Real Madrid players despite their trophyless campaign last term.
If the results go bad, the Madridistas will of course turn on the regime as they usually do and if Ancelotti couldn’t do it?
Falling further behind Barcelona in La Liga
Now while they only finished two points being Barcelona last term, finishing in second place to their great Spanish rivals represents nothing but failure for Real Madrid.
More so than the points difference, Barcelona seemed to scale new heights in 2014/15 with the additions of Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic proving inspired.
With a front line of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, that fearsome combination has the ability to rule for a number of years to come and with Real Madrid’s attack unable to compete with that trio at present, there is the feeling that Los Blancos are slipping behind a little.
Ronaldo staying at the Bernabeu will of course be key to Madrid usurping their old foes once again but perhaps the Portuguese international will grow tired of his Messi rivalry while choosing the alternative project at Manchester United instead?
While Ronaldo and his character seems to suggest that he loves the rivalry with Messi and doing his best to compete with him, he is now 30-years-old and perhaps craves a new outlook deep down?
Because he knows he’s loved at Old Trafford
When we saw a fellow Portuguese icon in Jose Mourinho return to Chelsea in 2013, the Blues boss spoke at length about returning to where he is loved.
The similarly emotional Ronaldo has also spoken about the bond he shared with Manchester United fans on countless occasions and in truth, these sound-bites have always proved the basis to fresh transfer rumours speculating over his future at the Bernabeu.
But the fact remains, Ronaldo was a special player at United and with the Portuguese international reserving a place in his heart for the Red Devils, surely returning there would represent a great story in football towards the latter years of his career.
Because van Gaal’s project is coming together nicely
While the likes of Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger have questioned Manchester United’s latest policy of spending big over their principles of bringing through talented youngsters, Red Devils fans don’t have a care in the world right now.
Rebuilding the Red Devils following the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson was always going to be difficult and given the changing of the landscape following Chelsea and Manchester City’s spending power, it seems Manchester United are similarly looking to buy their way back to the top.
On the face of it, things look to be coming together nicely for van Gaal who know boasts one of the most competitive midfield’s in the Premier League, not to mention boasting one of the most eye-catching up-and-coming stars in Memphis Depay who’s even been described as the ‘new Ronaldo’ in several quarters.
With the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger arriving, United are combining experience with youth in what is an undoubtedly exciting project.
With the watching world waiting to see what van Gaal does next after claiming he has a “surprise” signing up his sleeve, there’s no way it could be Ronaldo or could it?
Because transfer reunions are now becoming commonplace
We’ve seen attitudes in the past that have suggested returning to a club where you were a former hero at is a bad idea in terms of tarnishing the legacy that once was.
However, in recent years we have seen a number of high profile return transfers that have included the likes of Thierry Henry returning on loan to Arsenal from the New York Red Bulls and also Didier Drogba returning to Chelsea for last season.
It appears, these one last hurrah-type transfers are now more commonplace than ever before, representing another chance for both fan and player to connect in a nostalgic venture that not only sells shirts but gets the whole club buzzing again.
At present, we’re off the opinion that Ronaldo will end up back at Old Trafford one day; we’re just not sure if it will be in the next few seasons as yet.
