Back at the start of the season, when Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from Manchester United was already considered a strong possibility, his former club Sporting had been pointed out as a potential destination for him.
There were even some rumours claiming Lions’ manager Ruben Amorim had vetoed the signing, and that could be one of the reasons why the forward couldn’t find his way out of Old Trafford in the summer.
As Cristiano Ronaldo continues to show his dissatisfaction at Manchester United, the stories about a potential return to Sporting are back. And as club president Frederico Varandas last night had a long interview with RTP, he was quizzed about the possibilities of signing the Portuguese star in January.
The president not only dismissed the rumours of that signing, but also made it clear that the transfer was never on the table for the Lions.
“For six months my coach has been massacred with this. There never really was anything. Out of respect for Cristiano Ronaldo, the national team and Man United, I will not feed any noise. He’s committed to winning the World Cup title,” Ruben Amorim told RTP (via Jornal de Notícias).
He also made it clear that it was not Ruben Amorim who stopped Ronaldo from joining Sporting in the summer.
“He didn’t veto it, because it wasn’t an issue. It wasn’t on the table. There was never a conversation with Hugo Viana or Amorim about this.”
Despite all the denials, Varandas still highlighted the respect for Ronaldo at Sporting, claiming he has an “historic and unique legacy” at the club.
