Manchester United fans could well have their dreams shattered of seeing one of their iconic players, Cristiano Ronaldo not retiring with his former club as the 31-year-old was noted saying at the La Sexta's Jugones show, “It's obvious I want to stay here. I think I am going to retire at Real Madrid,” breaking millions of hearts at Manchester.
Ronaldo has two years remaining on his current contract and his agent Jorge Mendes is looking deep into the negotiations with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez over a deal which could be worth £215m for a period of five years, and could effectively rule out his return to Old Trafford, tying him down to the Bernabeu till 2021.
If the deal goes through Ronaldo will become the second-most paid player in La Liga behind Barcelona arch-rival Lionel Messi.
Also read: What if: Cristiano Ronaldo never left Manchester United
United have tried and failed to lure Ronaldo back to the club that signed him at an early age of just 17 years from Sporting Lisbon in 2003 and the Portuguese has ever since been linked with a return. Ronaldo had already played under Jose Mourinho for three years in the Spanish capital but there appears a very little chance of the pair linking up again at Old Trafford.
Being banned by FIFA to sign new players for two consecutive transfer windows, Zidane is looking to make a robust and tenacious squad heading into the barren 18-month period. Although things have started to look good for the Madrid boss with the current Wold Cup winner, Toni Kroos agreeing to extend his Real Madrid stay till 2022.
The German midfielder, who signed from Bayern Munich in 2014, has committed his best years to Los Merengues despite interest from Manchester City in the summer.
Also read: Toni Kroos signs contract extension with Real Madrid until 2022
But Zinedine Zidane isn’t stopping there as he is ready to protect his club assets Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Pepe, Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez by offering them revised and improved terms.
The defending champions of Europe plan on announcing Ronaldo’s fate at the club in the coming weeks but are yet to decide to hold a press conference or a public stadium presentation.
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