There will be no Ronaldo homecoming to Old Trafford in the summer of 2015. Real Madrid Manager Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that in late October. However, Guillem Balague, a very prominent Spanish football journalist/pundit is talking about a Ronaldo return to the Theatre of Dreams, but said it will take a couple years yet.
He originally brought up the idea in September, and yesterday he revived the Ronaldo return idea.
“If he goes to Manchester United or Manchester City [this summer], he will make a difference, he will still be scoring and you could still get a lot out of him. So it would be stupid to get rid of him,” Balague told Sky Sports’ La Liga Weekly podcast.
“[Real] gave him a new deal recently and the idea is to keep him for the summer. Now next summer is when I think we will start hearing a lot of stories about Ronaldo where not only Madrid, but Ronaldo, may think about leaving.
“This summer he is certainly going to stay. Next summer is going to be fun.”
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It should be noted that United did actually make a bid for Ronaldo just last year. Balague, a Sky Sports pundit who has written for numerous Spanish and British newspapers, predicted correctly that Cristiano Ronaldo was going to Real Madrid back then. He first broke the news of a pre-contract agreement between Real Madrid and Ronaldo.
So you see what kind of connections he has. He’s sort of reiterating what he said in September.
Guillem has a good track record too, consistently breaking exclusive stories regarding transfers to and from La Liga. Some other stories that Balagué broke were David Beckham’s move to Real Madrid, Fernando Torres leaving Liverpool for Chelsea and David de Gea to Manchester United.
“I’m glad of the affection that United fans have for me, it means that I have left good memories,” Ronaldo was quoted last fall.
“I’ve always said I have a family in Manchester, but right now I’m happy here and I want to stay.”
Jorge Mendes, the agent of Cristiano Ronaldo, revealed the release clause in Ronaldo’s contract to be 1 billion Euros, yes, that’s billion with a “b.” Given the current exchange rate, that’s £800 million.
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