Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has admitted that he likes Real Madrid winger and former Old Trafford star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo left Old Trafford for the Santiago Bernabeu in July 2009 for a then world record fee of £80 million, but talk of a possible return has been rife ever since.
And now, United boss van Gaal has revealed his admiration for the player:
Ronaldo plays on the wings and he is fast and scores goals. There is no trainer in the world that doesn’t like him.
The Portuguese has seen a decline in form this season under ex-Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, and that was evident in Real Madrid’s 4-0 humiliation by Barcelona in Saturday’s El Clasico.
Despite that, Ronaldo has still scored 13 goals and made two assists in 16 games for Real Madrid this season, although even those figures might be considered below par for the Portugal captain.
Ronaldo is, however, still widely considered as one of the best players in the world, and van Gaal didn’t seem too confident of landing a player of such high calibre:
We are looking at all players, not just Ronaldo. But these players are mostly ungettable.
There is a belief now though that Real Madrid would be more willing to let Ronaldo leave, as the Portuguese approaches his 31st birthday in February.
The figure cited is £60 million, and United would be one of few sides in world football that could afford to pay such a fee.
On the potential transfer, van Gaal added:
With Ronaldo, let’s wait and hope.
It seems there will be a lot of speculation about Ronaldo before his future becomes clearer. As van Gaal says, United fans will simply have to wait and hope for now.
