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A return to Real Madrid would be the best move for Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Portugal team-mate Jose Fonte.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has reportedly asked for a move away from Manchester United, just one season after returning to Old Trafford from Juventus.
Despite scoring 24 goals during the 2021-22 campaign, Ronaldo could only help United to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League, thus missing out on qualification for the Champions League.
Having been due to return to training on Monday before he was granted extra time off due to a family issue, Ronaldo is set to miss the club’s pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia, with the squad set to depart on Friday.
That has further fuelled widespread speculation the 37-year-old’s second spell with the Red Devils is nearing its end.
The Portugal skipper was linked with a move to Bayern Munich, though chief executive Oliver Kahn has ruled out an approach from the Bundesliga champions.
But international team-mate Fonte believes a return to Madrid would be the best outcome for Ronaldo, who won four Champions Leagues and two LaLiga titles with Los Blancos between 2009 and 2018, as well as becoming the club’s all-time leading scorer with 450 goals.
Lille defender Fonte, who along with Ronaldo was part of the Portugal squad that won Euro 2016, told talkSPORT: “What I do know is that the man loves the Champions League.
“He believes it is the best competition in the world and knows how he has to perform [in it] to win Ballons d’Or.
“He needs to be winning trophies and competing for trophies for the Ballon d’Or. He is a serial winner, as everyone knows.
“He might be looking at the [United] squad and thinking, ‘Am I going to be able to win some trophies this year?’ Maybe he doesn’t believe it. I don’t know. Only he can say.
“Would he go back to Madrid? That would be, for him, the best. If they want him back or not, that’s a different question.”
