Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground, four years on from leaving the club after an iconic stint at the Spanish giants.
The Portuguese star trained alone at the facility, according to Spanish outlet Relevo, as he looks to keep himself in shape as he searches for a new club following his country’s World Cup exit.
Ronaldo has been a free agent since mutually terminating his contract with Manchester United last month in the wake of his explosive interview with Piers Morgan.
Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly spending a few days at Real Madrid’s training ground
It has been reported that the 37-year-old asked Real Madrid president Florentino Perez if he could train at Valdebebas for a few days following his country’s defeat to Morocco in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar.
Perez gave Ronaldo the green light to use their facilities, reportedly telling the Portuguese star: ‘Of course, this is your home.’
Ronaldo cemented his legacy as one of football’s greatest players ever during his nine-year stint at the Santiago Bernabeu after moving to Spain in a then world-record £80 million deal from Man United.
Ronaldo (pictured in 2018) left Real Madrid for Juventus four years ago and is now a free agent
He won two LaLiga titles and four Champions League trophies at Real, while four of his five Ballon d’Or gongs were awarded to him during his time at the club.
It would have been emotional for Ronaldo to return to the club’s training ground after what has been a tumultuous period for the Portuguese forward since he swapped Real for Juventus in 2018.
But he had to train away from the club’s current batch of players, who are being led by his former manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Ronaldo had a good relationship with Madrid’s president Perez, who declared back in 2019 on Onda Cero: ‘Cristiano Ronaldo has never created a problem in Madrid. He has been an example and I will remember him as the best player we have signed.
‘He has always been exemplary, a professional like the cup of a pine tree. I’ve always had a perfect relationship with him and I’ve never had any personal or money problems.’
However, Ronaldo said Perez’s attitude towards him had changed prior to his departure from the Bernabeu.
‘I felt it inside the club, especially from the president, that they no longer considered me the same way that they did in the start,’ he told France Football in an interview in 2018.
‘In the first four or five years there I had the feeling of being ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’. Less afterwards. The president looked at me through the eyes that didn’t want to say the same thing, as if I was no longer indispensable to them, if you knew what I meant.’
His second stint at Manchester United didn’t go to plan with his contract mutually terminated
This move came just days after Ronaldo’s bombshell interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV
It is a quick return for Ronaldo, with most players being given a week to relax and recover following their respective World Cup exits.
Ronaldo was wasted no time in returning to training, with his search for a new club likely a big factor behind that.
His contract at United was terminated following his interview with Morgan, in which he said he felt ‘betrayed’ by the club and that he ‘didn’t respect’ manager Erik ten Hag.
Drama continued to follow him into the World Cup after he was dropped by manager Fernando Santos for their World Cup matches with Switzerland and Morocco.
This led to reports that he threatened to walk out on Portugal – something which both he and the country’s football federation denied.
He came off the bench in both games, but was unable to make an impression as they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by the African nation.
Ronaldo has wasted no time getting back into training following Portugal’s World Cup exit
With the legendary forward set to turn 38 in February his list of options appear to be limited.
One interested party in Ronaldo’s services is reportedly Antero Henrique, head of the Qatar Stars League.
Henrique is said to have gone straight to Ronaldo to express an interest in bringing him back to the golf nation following the World Cup.
He is hoping Ronaldo will join a Qatari club but the player’s agent Jorge Mendes is working on a different proposal, the report claims.
There had also been reports that Ronaldo could join Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr on January 1.
But sources close to Ronaldo told Sportsmail reports of a deal being complete were ‘nonsense’.
Ronaldo is arguably Real Madrid’s greatest player ever after a successful nine-year stint
His search for a new club is reportedly impacted by a ‘rocky relationship’ with agent Jorge Mendes
Ronaldo’s search for a new club could be done without the help of his agent Jorge Mendes.
It has been reported that his near two-decade relationship with Mendes is starting to fall apart with the player and agent seemingly disagreeing over his next destination.
The Portuguese star’s financial demands don’t help if he wishes to remain in Europe.
Ronaldo kissed goodbye to £16million after leaving his £500,000-a-week contract at Man United seven months early.
.