Cristiano Ronaldo, the Manchester United forward, is set to join Sporting Lisbon, a Champions League club, in the near future.
Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim has revealed that the Portuguese club is ‘dreaming’ of signing Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
On Tuesday, Ronaldo trained with Manchester United’s first team for the first time since refusing to come on as a late substitute in last week’s 2-0 Premier League victory over Tottenham.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who was desperate to leave Old Trafford in the summer, was barred from the squad that drew 1-1 with Chelsea last weekend by Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag.
The 37-year-old has been linked with a move away from Manchester United when the transfer window reopens in January, with Chelsea particularly interested.
However, a return to Sporting Lisbon, where Ronaldo began his career, has also been discussed.
Amorim, on the other hand, has now admitted that Sporting Lisbon does not have the funds to pay Ronaldo’s wages because the Portugal captain would have to take a significant pay cut to rejoin his former club.
“Ronaldo is a top player,” Amorim said at his pre-match press conference ahead of Sporting Lisbon’s Champions League clash with Tottenham on Wednesday.
“He is a Manchester United player. Everybody in Sporting dreams of the return for Cristiano, but we don’t have the money to pay his wages.
“I think he is happy in Manchester but is not playing, so that is the problem.
“But I have my problems, so it is Ten Hag’s problem! I am very happy with my players, no problem at all at the moment.”
Ronaldo spent five years at Sporting Lisbon between 1997 and 2002.