Cristiano Ronaldo tipped to return to Manchester United for a third time

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 14 Oct 2025 07:03 CDT
• 2 min read

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Cristiano Ronaldo has been tipped to return to Manchester United for a third spell, though not in a playing capacity.

CR7 is a legendary figure at Old Trafford and won the 2008 Ballon d'Or while playing for the club, helping the Red Devils to one Champions League, three Premier League titles, one FA Cup and two League Cups in his time there.

He subsequently joined Real Madrid for a then-world-record fee. It was with Los Blancos that he became one of the undisputed best players in history, winning four Champions Leagues and becoming the top scorer in the history of that competition.

He enjoyed domestic success with Juventus thereafter before completing a blockbuster return to Man Utd in 2021. A fall out with manager Erik ten Hag led to an acrimonious departure to Al-Nassr, but Ronaldo is still beloved by the Old Trafford faithful.

It is for that reason that his former team-mate Wes Brown believes he could return to Man Utd as an executive of some sort.

“You never know what Cristiano Ronaldo wants to do, but you can’t doubt him after everything he’s achieved," Brown told 10bet Casino.

“I think first of all, it depends how he’s doing in Saudi Arabia, because it’s not clear he’ll be stopping any time soon - he’s still banging them in for Al Nassr. But he could definitely move into the boardroom, he’s got the ability to swerve away from coaching and into the executive level, 100 per cent. Why not? If he’s enjoying it, it’ll be perfect for him.”

Ronaldo's family wants him to retire

Ronaldo recently revealed that his family have urged him to retire as he is now 40 years old.

"People, especially my family, say, 'It's time for you to stop. You've done everything,'" Ronaldo said after accepting the inaugural Prestige Award at the Portugal Football Globe Awards gala.

"Why do you want to score a thousand goals?' But I don't think so. I think I'm still producing good things, I'm helping my club and the national team, and why not keep going? I'm sure that when it's over, I'll leave feeling fulfilled, because I gave it my all. I know I don't have many more years, but I try to enjoy the few I have to the fullest.

“If it were 20 years ago, I would say I wanted to 'eat the world.' Now I don't see things that way. Age allows you to think differently. I have a philosophy of living day by day. Things go by so quickly, things change, and you can't make long-term plans. Right now, I make short-term plans because it gives me more energy that way. It gives me more of a will to live. That's what I try to do: enjoy each day, training session by training session, game by game. The rest will soon be seen.”

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