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Sporting CP makes decision on Cristiano Ronaldo’s return.
Sporting CP president Federico Varandas has backed away from the club making an approach for former star Cristiano Ronaldo, whose career with Manchester United appears to be over after an explosive interview in which he harshly criticized the team.
Ronaldo, who had already asked to leave Old Trafford in the summer, said that he felt “betrayed” by United, claimed that club officials had attempted to forcibly remove him, expressed his disdain for coach Erik ten Hag, and also criticized the Glazer family’s ownership.
At the close of the summer transfer season, Sporting originally looked into ways to re-sign Ronaldo, but nothing official ever happened before the deadline.
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Sporting director Hugo Viana had refused in July to rule out a reunion in the future: “He can decide where he can go. But you never know the future…so whatever he decides, let’s see.”
But head Ruben Amorim said only recently that the cost of bringing Ronaldo back to the Jose Alvalade Stadium was prohibitive: “Everybody in Sporting dreams of the return for Cristiano but we don’t have the money to pay his wages.”
Varandas has since refuted claims that Amorim blocked any strategy, claiming it was never properly considered and was never a feasible possibility for the club.
“He will always be the reference of Sporting’s academy and the best Portuguese player ever,” the president told RTP3 in Portugal.
“Now, I’m not going to make noise. If Ruben Amorim vetoed the return? Of course not. It was never even a topic or was on the table. There was never a conversation with me, with Hugo Viana or Amorim. This topic never existed. I know it sells a lot in the press.”