Cristiano Ronaldo set for Atletico Madrid transfer after wantaway Man Utd star ‘convinces Simeone to sign him’
CRISTIANO RONALDO has reportedly convinced Diego Simeone to bring him to Atletico Madrid.
The Portuguese forward, 37, is desperate to leave Manchester United this summer and play Champions League football.
Ronaldo still has one year remaining on his Old Trafford contract but is yet to return for pre-season training with the Red Devils.
However, the veteran has found that interest in him is not as high as he anticipated with a number of clubs ruling themselves out of the running to sign him.
Both Chelsea and Bayern Munich have declared that they are not interested, while the star himself has zero interest in taking up a lucrative offer from an unnamed Saudi Arabian club.
However, Spanish outlet are now claiming that Ronaldo could be about to return to Spain with Atletico Madrid.
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Ronaldo was the king of Madrid when he scored an astonishing 311 goals in 292 LaLiga matches between 2009 and 2018 in a spell that saw him win the Champions League four times.
And that made him public enemy No1 with their neighbours Atletico - but now he could be about to sensationally join them.
The report states that his representatives have spoken with Atletico boss Simeone and persuaded him to make a move to get Ronaldo back to Madrid.
It also adds that Simeone loves Cristiano and has always called him the “number 1” player.
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He also believes that his signing would be as successful as Luis Suarez’s arrival in 2020 - although he thinks the Portugal ace could have a greater impact from both a sporting and commercial viewpoint.
Ronaldo has spoken to new United manager Erik ten Hag, who emphasised how important the star would be to his plans, but even that failed to convince him to want to stay.
Reports have also suggested that Sporting Lisbon would look to bring the player back to the club.
Ronaldo's mother Dolores Aveiro is a fan and vowed to speak to her son about a potential move back to his childhood club a year ago.
However, Sporting director Hugo Viana poured cold water on the speculation recently suggesting that a move is unlikely to happen.
Viana said: "I think not now - I don't think it is possible, but you never know.
"He can decide where he goes, but you never know the future. I don't want to talk about that, but he has another year on his contract so whatever he decides, let's see."