Cristiano Ronaldo made a clean break when he left Real Madrid in the summer of 2018 for Juventus according to Marca.
Fellow Portuguese speaker Marcelo was the only player he was said to have stayed in touch with and he didn’t attend the Ballon d’Or ceremony that saw Luka Modric become the first player other than Ronaldo or Lionel Messi to win the award since Kaka in 2007.
This behaviour has changed. Ronaldo attended El Clasico on March 1st having called up Florentino Perez to ask for a place in the Santiago Bernabeu, a request which the Madrid president was happy to oblige.
Ronaldo posted his delight on social media when Madrid won at Camp Nou, and recently was photographed with his former team-mates Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Modric and Mateo Kovacic.
Y seguimos aquí… y lo que nos queda. Feliz de veros, amigos.
We're still around… and there's more to come!
Happy to see you, my friends @Cristiano @officialpepe. pic.twitter.com/0spg2hrpdY— Sergio Ramos (@SergioRamos) October 7, 2020
This charm offensive coincides with rumours gathering pace that Ronaldo could be ready to return to the Spanish capital or at least leave Juve, whose leaders are rumoured to be seeking to reduce salaries in response to the economic blow of the pandemic.
An issue Ronaldo may face is the difference in the tax situation outside of Italy. Income earned outside of the country is taxed with a flat rate of €100,000, something that has tempted many footballers to Italy.
Despite this rapprochement, it’s not thought that Madrid are tempted by the thought of Ronaldo’s potential return. His high salary would be difficult in this economic context, and second spells don’t always end well.
The Portuguese scored 450 goals in 438 appearances for Los Blancos. He won two La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys, two Spanish Super Cups, four Champions Leagues, two European Super Cups and three Club World Cups.
Featured image courtesy of Goal.
