Sporting Club de Portugal are ‘doing everything’ to bring Cristiano Ronaldo back to the club from Manchester United this summer.
That’s according to Foot Mercato, who say the Sporting ‘are keen’ to bring Ronaldo back to Portugal 19 years after he first left the club.
Ronaldo is determined to leave Manchester United this summer after they missed out on Champions League football at the end of last season.
He also appears to have had a falling out with new manager Erik ten Hag behind the scenes, something which has pushed him closer to the exit.
Finding a suitor is proving difficult for Manchester United, though, with none of the current Champions League crop, particularly the big European sides, interested in Ronaldo.
They say that Ronaldo and United are ‘irreconcilable’ as the player wants Champions League football and ‘has many doubts’ about Ten Hag and his team.
That opens the door for Sporting and they are ‘pushing to sign him’ before the transfer window closes.
They state that Sporting director Hugo Viana is ‘very active behind the scenes’, trying to persuade Ronaldo to return to his hometown club.
There is an acceptance that it will be a ‘difficult operation’ to pull off, but Sporting have a ‘few trump cards up their sleeve’.
The biggest of those is that they can offer Champions League football, while the lack of any other serious option at this point in the summer also works in their favour.
There’s still plenty to do for the move to happen, but it’s a case of ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’ for Sporting.
