Ronaldo shouldn't be too optimistic about Real Madrid swansong

Karan Tejwani

• 16 Dec 2022 10:35 CST
• 4 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo, for the first time in his career, is without a club and a future in European football isn’t looking likely with little interest in him.

The Portuguese star left Manchester United earlier this month in the aftermath of his unsanctioned interview with Piers Morgan where he criticized the club, owners and manager.

It saw his contract from the club terminated, ending his one-and-a-half year second stint and he can join a new side when the transfer window reopens in January.

READ: ‘Sporting don’t want the Cristiano Ronaldo circus’

However, hopes of a Real Madrid return are slim, especially considering the comments made by Florentino Perez, the club’s President, a decade ago.

Real Madrid return looks unlikely

Spanish publication El Confidencial leaked audios of Perez criticizing Ronaldo last year and it doesn’t paint a pretty picture for the pair’s relationship.

“[Ronaldo] is crazy. The guy is an idiot, he’s sick. You think this guy is normal, but he’s not. If he was, he wouldn’t do all the things he does. The last stupid thing, which everyone in the world saw... why do you think he’d do something so stupid?” Perez says in the audios.

He then criticizes his agent Jorge Mendes and former manager Jose Mourinho, citing that they are too egotistical and don’t understand they could make more money through image rights.

READ: Ronaldo, Hazard, and players nobody wants to sign

“Mendes has no control over [Ronaldo] and it’s the same with Mourinho - none at all. Even for interviews, they don’t listen to him. These are two guys with terrible egos, spoilt the pair of them, who don’t see the reality because they could both earn a lot more money if things were different.

“They are both abnormal because we are talking about a lot of money in terms of image rights. And with that face they have, that challenging glare, the fact that no one likes them... if the publicity was different, everything changes,” Perez says in the audio.

This was at a time when matters were tense at Real Madrid, as they were in the midst of Barcelona’s era of domination and relations weren’t the best between club figures.

For now, considering his age and how much it would cost to keep him, it seems unlikely Real Madrid will move for Ronaldo even though it would be a free transfer.