Man United Star Cristiano Ronaldo 'Held Talks' Over Shock Return To Spain, La Liga Club Refused To Sign Him

Cristiano Ronaldo was reportedly in talks over a potential shock move to Atletico Madrid in the summer before he completed his return to Manchester United.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner stunned the world with his sudden exit from Juventus and was heavily linked with Manchester City.

However, United entered the race to sign Ronaldo and landed him on deadline day in an initial deal worth around £12.8m.

Ahead of his sensational return to Old Trafford, Ronaldo came close to a stunning return to Spain with Real Madrid’s city rivals.

Los Blancos smashed the old world-record transfer fee to land Ronaldo from United in an £80m deal in 2009.

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The 36­-year-old Portuguese superstar spent nine years with Madrid and lifted 15 trophies, including two La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues and two Copa del Reys.

It has now been revealed that super-agent Jorge Mendes attempted to engineer a return to Spain for Ronaldo with Atletico's help.

According to Cadena SER’s Carrusel Deportivo (as per The Daily Mirror), Ronaldo’s agent was in talks with Atletico and not Los Blancos.

However, Atletico chiefs turned down the idea of signing the Portugal captain amid fears over how their city rivals would perceive the move.

They also believe that Ronaldo would not have received a positive reception from the Atletico fans due to his status as a Madrid legend.

PA

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Los Blancos were linked with a sensational move for their all-time record scorer in the summer, but Carlo Ancelotti dismissed the speculation on social media.

The Madrid manager took to Twitter and tweeted: “Cristiano is a Real Madrid legend and he has all my love and respect. I have never considered signing him. We are looking forward.”

Ronaldo, who is under contract with United until 2023, wasted no time in opening his goalscoring account in his second spell with the Red Devils.

The former Juventus star scored a brace on his second United debut against Newcastle before adding to his tally against Young Boys.

Ronaldo also added his name to the scoresheet in United’s 2-1 comeback win over West Ham on Sunday at the London Stadium.

Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Atletico Madrid, La Liga, Spain, Manchester United, Premier League, England, Football

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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