Cristiano Ronaldo could return to Manchester United, according to club captain Nemanja Vidic.
Cristiano Ronaldo made his eagerly anticipated return to Old Trafford last night, scoring the goal that knocked his former employers out of the Champions League.
Ronaldo refused to celebrate his goal, as a mark of respect to the club that had taught him so much. The bitter-sweet realisation of the results of his winner clearly played on Ronaldo’s mind, displayed by his evident disappointment at the final whistle.
It is clear that Manchester United still holds a large place in the Portuguese’s heart, and current captain Nemanja Vidic believes Ronaldo could return to Old Trafford.
Ronaldo was part of the famous Champions League-winning Manchester United side that were triumphant in Moscow in 2009, and openly admits that the years at United were the most enjoyable of his career. He continues to support the club and admits that Alex Ferguson is a father-figure for him.
Despite Ronaldo professing his love for the Premier League leaders, Alex Ferguson has dismissed chances of a return as nothing more than “false hope”. However, Vidic believes a return is not improbable.
“I could see it,” Vidic said. “He is a United supporter and he still follows United, he still misses the club and the environment here, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him come back.
“It would be a big ask for many reasons, but I would love to see him here.I enjoyed playing with him [and] he enjoyed it here [at Old Trafford].”
Vidic lauded his former team-mate, acknowledging that he is on the same level as Lionel Messi and deserves equal recognition. The Serbian also praised Ronaldo’s famous work-rate and commented that he is one of the hardest trainers he has met.
“They are different players, totally different,” said the United captain. “But in recent years, Barcelona have won everything and I think that is why people have put Ronaldo to one side. I have played with him and trained with him and I know how many sacrifices he made to be where he is. He worked so hard on everything and people forget that.
“They just look at Ronaldo as though he is only interested in fashion and having his picture taken, but the truth is that he has always trained harder than anyone else. He has a lot of talent, but 75pc of what he does is because he has worked hard. Every time he walks onto the pitch, he wants to score and he has that hunger in every game.”
After his decisive goal in Tuesday night’s 1-2 win over Manchester United, Ronaldo is top of the Champions League scoring charts with nine goals. Real Madrid’s win means they progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
