Cristiano Ronaldo wants to end career at Sporting, says friend
Fresh from fuelling talk of a Manchester United return, Miguel Paixao has now spoken of the Real Madrid ace's plans to re-join his first club.
Miguel Paixao is a close friend of Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo, going back to the pair's time together in the youth ranks of Sporting CP. And, having already fuelled speculation over a Manchester United return for the star, he has now also indicated that Ronaldo is keen to re-sign for Os Leoes before he retires.
Paixao: Cristiano "would like to" end career in Lisbon
In the wake of last week's reports linking Ronaldo with United, Paixao took to social media with a photo of himself and the shirt worn by 'Ronnie' and his Red Devils colleagues when they won the 2007/08 Champions League, with images of the Portugal captain alongside Sir Alex Ferguson and former Old Trafford team-mates also visible. The post has been interpreted as a nod to United on his pal's behalf.
On Wednesday, meanwhile, Paixao was on hand to pick up an award for CR7 at Lisbon's Teatro Tivoli - where, according to Record, he was asked whether the player would like to finish his career back where it all began. "If that were possible, he'd like to," he replied, before insisting: "It's true that he talks about that. In fact, he's the one who asked me to say this here. The possibility is there."
Sporting chief keen for Cristiano return
The option of ending his playing days at Sporting is one that is not only being weighed up by Cristiano, but also by the president of the Liga NOS outfit, Bruno Carvalho, who has stated publicly that one of his aims is to see the 32-year-old back in the green and white hoops of the 18-time Portuguese champions.
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