Despite Cristiano Ronaldo's 'fake' comment, Sporting Lisbon coach says legendary footballer can return to boyhood club

Despite Cristiano Ronaldo dismissing reports linking with a sensational return to Sporting Lisbon, a coach from the Portuguese outfit has claimed that an emotional return cannot be ruled out. The forward left boyhood club Sporting in 2003, for Manchester United. During his breakthrough 2002-03 campaign at Sporting, Ronaldo scored five goals after having worked his way through the academy. After establishing himself as one of the best players in the world during his time under Sir Alex Ferguson, Ronaldo departed for Real Madrid, from where he joined Juventus and then again rejoined United ahead of the 2021-22 campaign. Speaking to Record, Barao said, "I believe that Cristiano Ronaldo will come".

Recently the Instagram account of Sport TV Portugal shared a photo of a car spotted at Sporting's Jose Alvalade Stadium, alleging it belonged to Ronaldo and that he was on the verge of signing for the Liga NOS outfit. But Ronaldo didn't take it well and reacted by writing 'Fake' in the comments.

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Ronaldo rejoined United for a reported fee of around 15 million euros and quickly established himself as the team's main focal point. He scored 24 goals and secured three assists in 38 games. He finished as the team's top-scorer as United finished sixth in the Premier League standings but failed to secure UEFA Champions League qualification. Since the beginning of the ongoing transfer window, the attacker has expressed his desire to leave and hasn't joined the team on their pre-season tour.

Recently, Portugal and United teammate Bruno Fernandes spoke to mirror.co.uk and opened up about the ongoing situation regarding Ronaldo. "Obviously we have to respect the decision of everyone," he said.

"I don't know what Cristiano said to the club, to the manager, I don't know what he's going into his head, but we have to respect his space. From everything we know, he had some family problems, so we have to respect his space, give him some space and that's it," he said

"Cristiano was our top scorer last season, he added goals to us, but obviously it's not on me, it's the club that has to make the choices and Cristiano makes his own choice."

"As I said, I don't know what's going on in his head, if he wants to leave, it’s all news, I didn't ask them that. The only thing I asked Cristiano, when he didn't turn up, was if everything was okay with the family, he told me what was going on, that's it and nothing more," he further added.

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