When the Saudi Arabia–originating 'boycott' incident involving Cristiano Ronaldo (41, Al Nassr) broke out, shocking rumors of a return to Manchester United (Man United) surfaced.
The British social media outlet TopSkills Sports said on the 3rd (Korea time) that Ronaldo remains in contact with Man United over the possibility of a return and claimed that he is willing to reduce his huge salary to rejoin the club he joined as a youngster.
It added that despite internal issues revealed in the Pierce Morgan interview, the club believes the problem was not the club itself but a personal relationship with manager Erik ten Hag.
It also emphasized that if everything goes according to plan, Ronaldo would leave Al Nassr today and join Man United, saying his return to Man United is approaching.
But this is still close to being 'groundless.' The transfer market is unpredictable, but no reputable local mainstream outlet is currently reporting negotiations between Ronaldo and Man United.
It is known to be true that Ronaldo, disappointed by Al Nassr's lack of investment, declared a boycott after the Al Riyadh match on the 2nd and through the Al Ittihad match on the 7th. But the claim that his destination is Man United is merely a low-credibility 'speculation.'
Ronaldo targeted then-manager ten Hag and the club hierarchy in a one-on-one interview with British journalist Pierce Morgan ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
In particular, Ronaldo even named the manager and criticized him, saying, "Ten Hag does not respect me. So I do not respect him," and the fallout from that remark effectively led to a rupture between Ronaldo and Man United.
However, local betting firm Betfair set the odds for Ronaldo's return to Man United at 40/1. That makes it far less likely than him heading to Major League Soccer (MLS) (7/4) or deciding to go to Sporting CP (5/2).
Ronaldo's boycott is a sign of dissatisfaction with the club management and the sovereign wealth funds, as he believes he and Al Nassr are suffering from an "imbalance in financial management."
The PIF owns four clubs including Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli. But Ronaldo feels his team Al Nassr has been thoroughly neglected in reinforcement support compared with rivals such as Al Hilal.
In fact, the only player Al Nassr signed in this winter transfer window was 21-year-old prospect Haider Abdulkarim. By contrast, league leader Al Hilal have signed Pablo Marí and news is circulating that Karim Benzema's arrival is imminent.
As captain, Ronaldo demanded strong investment to escape the team's "trophy drought," and when that was overturned, he reportedly took the extreme step of a "boycott."
Amid this turmoil, rumors of a return to his former club Man United, where Michael Carrick is managing, have flared up again. Since moving to Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo has produced astonishing figures of 127 matches, 111 goals and 22 assists.
It is true that the possibility of Ronaldo leaving Saudi Arabia has increased as he is only 39 goals shy of 1,000 career goals. But whether his destination will be Old Trafford again is unknown.
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