Manchester United are set to make £850,000 from Cristiano Ronaldo next summer, despite the fact they sold the forward over 10 years ago to Real Madrid.
Every year since 2010 Ronaldo has been linked with a return to Old Trafford, and this year has been no difference, but even without his return the Premier League side look set to benefit.
According to the Sun, Juventus will pay nearly £1 million to the Red Devils at the end of the season due to what a source told the newspaper was 'the second instalment of a solidarity payment.'
The newspaper claims that the Old Lady's financial records for this season showed up the payment, being made before the end of this season.
Advert
Despite the £850k payment being on the books it's not known exactly what it's for, with solidarity payments usually made by clubs as compensation for players aged 23 or under after they move due to contracts running out.
This obviously isn't the case with Ronaldo, who moved to United aged 18 and left for Real Madrid aged 24, and it's also the second time that Juve have paid United.
It's likely that the two payments are left over from the deal that took the five time Ballon d'Or winner from Old Trafford to the Bernabeu, although that itself will have been 11 years ago by next summer.
Advert
Just how long the 34-year-old remains in Turin is already up for debate, despite joining the Italian champions just under 18 months ago.
Before the transfer window the forward was subbed off in two Juve games in a row, against Lokomotiv Moscow in the Champions League and against Milan in Serie A, with Maurizio Sarri's side not winning the games until Ronaldo went off.
The former Sporting winger was reportedly annoyed after the second substitution but Sarri put the subbing down to injury and praised his player for starting despite being in pain.
Advert
Ronaldo then played 180 minutes of Portugal's two Euro 2020 qualifiers, scoring four goals across the two games, before returning to Italy and missing Saturday's game with Atalanta.
All of that has led to suggestions that Real's all time leading scorer could be on the move in the summer, but whether United would be his next destination remains to be seen, and seems completely opposite of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's way of working.
Will Ronaldo return to Manchester?
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Manchester United, Serie A, Transfer stories, Transfer rumours, Premier League, Juventus, Transfer news, Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid