Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United Transfer: Louis Van Gaal Confirms Interest

Rumors over Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer from Real Madrid have been gaining an almost daily momentum over the last few weeks. These rumor have gained so much momentum in fact that Manchester United’s manager Louis Van Gaal was even asked about the possibility of the Portuguese forward returning to Old Trafford during his weekly press conference.

United fans will be overjoyed to learn that the Dutch coach admitted he would love to sign Cristiano Ronaldo; however, he doesn’t actually expect Real Madrid to sell their star man.

“It is possible,” Van Gaal said when he was asked about the chance of re-signing the forward. “Players like Ronaldo give a lot of extra to the team, but I don’t think Real Madrid shall sell him,” he added, before he went on to muse that the English media are pining for Ronaldo’s return more than Manchester United. “It’s always a discussion in the papers,” Van Gaal said of the recent spate of Ronaldo rumors, “and I don’t think the media shall buy Ronaldo.”

The 29-year-old has been heavily linked with a move back to England recently, and the club that sold him back in 2009 for a then-world record fee of $130 million looks like the likely destination if he was to make the trek back.

Ronaldo was the one who actually got the speculation started regarding a possible return to Old Trafford when he spoke to MUTV. “I love Manchester and you never know in football. Of course, I’m happy at Real Madrid; it’s my home, it’s my club, but United treated me unbelievably, so you never know. I am still in contact with some people there because I had a good relationship with everybody – it was like my second family,” he declared.

Rumors then started to gather apace when Angel di Maria, who Manchester United bought from Real Madrid for just under $100 million earlier this summer, revealed that he didn’t expect Ronaldo to stay at the Bernabeu. Then the former Real president, Ramon Calderon, announced that Ronaldo had grown weary at Madrid because of the transfers of numerous players, including di Maria and Mesut Ozil, and that he now wanted to go back to United because this is where he truly enjoyed playing soccer. These sentiments were then echoed by reputed Spanish journalist Guillem Balague, who insinuated on Sky Sports that an agreement had already been verbally agreed between the two clubs.

Do you think that Cristiano Ronaldo will leave Real Madrid?

[Image via Image SCI]