Ronaldo back to Real Madrid? Zidane has his say…

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 17 May 2021 17:32 BST
• 3 min read

Following Juventus’ Champions League exit this week, Cristiano Ronaldo has been linked with a sensational return to Real Madrid, but would Zinedine Zidane welcome him back?

In July of 2018, Ronaldo completed a £85 million (€100m) from Real Madrid to Juventus after a remarkable period of success at the Santiago Bernabeu which included four Champions League victories and a flurry of goalscoring records smashed.

Reasons for his Real Madrid exit range from wanting a new challenge to allegedly being unhappy with the club’s president Florentino Perez and his lack of support for Ronaldo through a high-profile tax case with the Spanish government.

Though Ronaldo has kept up his goalscoring exploits at the Bianconeri and won two titles in a row, he has not taken Juve past the quarter-final stage of the Champions League – a competition he was basically brought in to win.

Juventus are one of the many clubs around Europe that have been hit hard financially by the pandemic, and with money tight, questions have been raised about whether Ronaldo’s huge salary is actually worth it.

A return to Real Madrid was mentioned by the Spanish press after Juventus were defeated by Porto in the last 16.

What has Zidane said?

When asked about Ronaldo potentially making his way back to the Spanish capital, Zidane was democratic in his answer, but didn’t exactly rule anything out.

“You know what Cristiano is, what he has done and how much love we have for him,” the Frenchman said, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.

“Here he made history, it is magnificent. Now he is a Juve player and I cannot tell you anything about what they are saying. He is a Juventus player and I have to respect these things.”

Will Ronaldo leave Juventus?

Ronaldo is apparently unhappy with life at Juventus and would be open to a move away, including a return to Real Madrid.

However, the fact remains that he is now 36-years-old and would not command the kind of wages he is on at Juventus anywhere else currently, especially in the middle of the ongoing pandemic which has forced fans to remain out of stadiums.

Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, and even Major League Soccer with David Beckham’s Inter Miami have been mentioned as potential destinations too for the Portuguese superstar.