Reports Claim Manchester United Star Cristiano Ronaldo Could Return To Juventus

Manchester United star striker Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly planning to return back Italian giants Juventus after an underwhelming season for "The Red Devils".

London, June 23 (IANS): Manchester United star striker Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly planning to return back to Italian giants Juventus after an underwhelming season for “The Red Devils”.

According to reports, Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes has already made a move and offered the 37-year-old striker’s services to Juventus, nicknamed “The Old Lady”, the club Ronaldo played for before rejoining current club Manchester United. Ronaldo, who made 134 appearances for Juventus, scoring 101 goals, won two league titles and two Coppa Italia trophies with the Italian side, will surely not be a stranger to Turin. It is understood that Juventus have not totally ruled out having the Portuguese legend back in their team, although there is a large amount of doubt over whether they would be able to seal a deal for the veteran.

Manchester United have not won the Premier League title since 2013, the year legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired, and last won a trophy in 2017 under the controversial Jose Mourinho. They finished last season in sixth place, having sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer midway through the season following a humiliating 4-1 defeat to Watford, and replaced him with Ralf Rangnick as an interim until the end of the season. This decision didn’t have the breakthrough impact the fans perceived, as United slumped to a disappointing sixth-place finish with a pitiful 58 points. This was a colossal 35 points away from the eventual champions, sworn rivals Manchester City.

The new manager of the club, Erik ten Hag, has been tasked with a very tricky rebuilding job in his first summer at Old Trafford. He will need to get to work on replacing some of the star names who will leave when their contracts expire on June 30, a list including Edinson Cavani, Lee Grant, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba.

The club have been linked to some of Ten Hag’s former players, such as Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, and Ajax trio Antony, Jurrien Timber, and Lisandro Martinez. However, despite interest and willingness to do a deal, nothing has materialized yet. Ronaldo is reportedly ‘worried’ about United’s current approach in the transfer window, as rivals Liverpool and Manchester City have already upgraded the squad by spending big money on players, while United have opted to wait and be cautious, maybe even over-cautious.

This season, the 37-year old found the back of the net 24 times, in what was an otherwise forgetful season for Manchester United, as they failed to qualify for the Champions League. This disappointing outcome puts Ronaldo’s future at Old Trafford under significant doubt.