The European football tabloids and gossip posts have been going nuts with stories and speculation about Cristiano Ronaldo returning to Manchester United. Every other day or so a new football pundit emerges with an opinion and prediction on Ronaldo’s future. United Manager Louis van Gaal added fuel to the transfer rumors fire today at his pre match press conference.
When asked whether he could bring Ronaldo back to United, where he enjoyed six successful years, Van Gaal said: “Yes, but it’s always a discussion in the papers, and I don’t think the media shall buy Ronaldo.”
When pushed on the matter again, the United manager said: “It is possible. That’s what I have said with Falcao. Players like Ronaldo give a lot of extra to a team, but I don’t think Real Madrid shall sell him.”
Here’s the video of the exchange and Van Gaal’s statement
Here’s the full Louis van Gaal Press conference from today.
Here’s the predicted starting XI via the Manchester Evening News.
Louis van Gaal is showing his sense of humor in the Leicester City preview presser, just like he did last week in his Queens Park Rangers pre-match press conference last weekend. He’s lightening the mood with some jokes, but at the same time there’s some truth behind those jokes. Just a couple days ago we learned that Man United made a bid for Cristiano Ronaldo just last year.
Guillem Balague, a very prominent Spanish football journalist/pundit is predicting a Ronaldo return to the Theatre of Dreams.
Balague, a Sky Sports pundit who has written for numerous Spanish and British newspapers, predicted correctly that Cristiano Ronaldo was going to Real Madrid. He first broke the news of a pre-contract agreement between Real Madrid and Ronaldo.
So yes, Louis van Gaal is interested in Ronaldo returning; just as much as the media is.
Oh, and fun fact: United comprise 51% of the worldwide audience that consumes the Premier League.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and sometimes writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partners with Fox Sports and Yahoo. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN2