Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has emphatically quashed any talk of Cristiano Ronaldo making a sensational return to the club.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s future at Juventus is far from clear at the moment amid talk they are looking to offload him due to his astronomical wages, with his contract at the Allianz Stadium expiring next summer.
The uncertainty has led to links of an emotional return to the Bernabeu, but Perez has made it very clear that they won’t be re-signing the 36-year-old star.
Perez, who is under fire after spearheading the European Super League plans, told El Larguero: ‘The rumours of Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Madrid are just rumours from his entourage. There is nothing.’
Ronaldo departed Madrid for Juventus in the summer of 2018 as he went in search of a new challenge but his time in Turin has failed to live up to expectations.
The Portugal international has won two Serie A crowns with the Old Lady but has failed to win the Champions League, with the round of 16 being the furthest Juve have got in the competition with Ronaldo in the side.
Ronaldo’s move to Turin has hit the Juventus accounts – with the forward on wages of £28million.
Ronaldo is Madrid’s all-time top goalscorer with a remarkable 451 goals in just 438 matches for the Spanish giants.
Madrid have struggled to replace those goals following his departure, with Eden Hazard one of several marquee signings who has failed to live up to expectations.
Two players who remain heavily linked with Madrid are Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
However, Perez also claimed that the signings of either will be ‘impossible’ for any team without the European Super League money.
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