Cristiano Ronaldo stance on Man Utd return revealed by ex-colleague with ‘progress towards agreement’ | OneFootball

Former Man Utd team-mate Wes Brown has revealed how Cristiano Ronaldo will feel about a potential return to Old Trafford in the near future.

The Portugal international has reportedly gone on strike at Al-Nassr over Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) seeming to favour one Saudi Arabian side over another.

Al-Nassr have signed just 21-year-old Iraqi centre-back Hayer Abdulkareem so far this winter, while Al-Hilal have been making big signings like the addition of Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad.

Explaining the issue on Monday, journalist Ben Jacobs told talkSPORT: “Cristiano Ronaldo is upset with the PIF strategy in particular.

“And made a statement by not making himself available for Al Nassr’s win over Al Riyadh earlier.

“Now some in Saudi allege that Ronaldo didn’t want Karim Benzema, former teammate, to go to Al Hilal.

“And instead felt it would be better for Saudi football for him to stay at Al Ittihad, or even join Al Nassr.

“Others say that this is a problem about central funding and how it is allocated specifically.

“So Ronaldo’s point, and Al Nassr’s fans have been protesting as well, is why Al Hilal were given so much money to spent before the Club World Cup when Al Nassr’s portion of the pie was a little bit smaller.

“But what’s interesting, is whether it’s Benzema specific, or whether there is a broader disagreement over strategy and ultimately funding, Ronaldo hasn’t been backed.

“He’s expected to be fined, he’s likely to be punished for not making himself available for selection.”

That has led to rumours that Man Utd have made a move that could see him return to the Premier League with the report even claiming the two parties are ‘progressing towards agreement’.

However, former Man Utd team-mate Brown insists that Ronaldo is unlikely to return to Old Trafford for his third spell at the club.

Brown told BettingLounge: “He’s not happy but would Cristiano Ronaldo come back to Manchester United for a third go? I would say no.

“I can’t see how that could happen. A move to MLS? Maybe. Maybe he goes back to Portugal and plays there. I’m sure he will still have so many options.

“The main thing is that he still wants to play in the World Cup and we would have to keep playing and making sure he keeps himself fit to do that. It’s a shock to everyone to see Ronaldo on strike but I honestly think it will get resolved. We’ll have to wait and see where it goes from here.”

Reports in Spain claim that Ronaldo has ‘received offers to return to Europe and to play in the United States’ and is ‘considering paying his €50 million release clause out of his own pocket to leave Saudi Arabia’.