Cristiano Ronaldo Set For Sensational Return To Man Utd?

Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Real Madrid is in doubt due to rough treatment from his own fans and new tax laws introduced in Spain.

Foreign footballers have been taking advantage of a loophole allowing them to only pay 24% income tax since 2003, when David Beckham was the first to enjoy the benefits of this law following his move to Real from Man Utd.

However, the Spanish government have just scrapped the loophole meaning all foreign footballers will now have to pay 54% tax on their income. Good news for the Premier League, as teams can now compete in terms of wages with the Spanish giants once again, but bad news for players like Ronaldo who is on a whopping £250,000 per-week.

The changes to tax laws will mean either Ronaldo will in effect take a huge pay-cut to remain in Spain, or Madrid will have to increase his wages. Unlikely given they’re already shelling-out £250,000 a week!

Berna-boo

This has lead to reports claiming the forward is considering his future, but remarkably the main reason is due to the treatment he’s receiving from his own fans.

Ronaldo has been targeted by large sections of the Bernabeu crowd and he was heckled during last month’s El Clasico defeat to Barcelona. This is almost unbelievable given the fact the 26-year-old has scored 26 goals this season, helping Real to a 5-point lead over Barca at the top of the table.

Ronaldo didn’t celebrate his goal during Madrid’s 5-1 win over Granada on Saturday either and it seems his love affair with the Spanish giants is slowly dying out.

It’s believed the Madrid fans have targeted Ronaldo because despite his impressive goal-haul, he’s been unable to prevent Barcelona from dominating El Clasicos, league titles and Champions League trophies in recent seasons. Quite extraordinary treatment to dish-out to your best player, if you ask me.

United return?

But could all of this lead to a sensational return to Manchester United? Ronaldo admitted in an interview only 2 months ago that he would be open to a return to Old Trafford, and refused to rule it out, so the possibility is there.

The main question mark would be money. Madrid paid United £80m in 2009 for Ronaldo and after scoring an incredible 87 goals in just 80 league games, it’s hard to see how his value hasn’t increased. Could United really afford to bring him back? It would be difficult, but with doubts over Wayne Rooney’s future perhaps Fergie could suggest a swap deal?!

If Ronaldo does leave Spain and United can’t afford him, it’s safe to say Man Utd fans would just hope he doesn’t end up at their ‘noisy neighbours’. City are one of only a small handful of clubs who could afford to buy Ronaldo, and if he became available, City would no doubt be heading the queue.