Cristiano Ronaldo was present at the Bernabeu on Sunday evening to watch Real Madrid move to the top of La Liga with a 2-0 win over Barcelona.
The Portugal star left Los Blancos in 2018 but his reaction to Vinicius Jr.’s goal shows he still has a place in his heart for the Spanish giants.
His departure came as something of a shock. Ronaldo had just helped Real Madrid win their third Champions League trophy in four seasons and was the main man at the biggest club in the world.
But a shift in his relationship with the club’s president, Florentino Perez, convinced him to leave after nine special years.
“I felt it inside the club, especially from the president, that they no longer considered me the same way that they did in the start,” Ronaldo, who joined Juventus in a £99.2 million deal, said, per The Guardian.
“The president looked at me through eyes that didn’t want to say the same thing, as if I was no longer indispensable to them, if you know what I mean.”
Ronaldo is 35 years old now and the final years of his career are approaching.
But according to a source close to the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, he hasn’t quite closed the book on his Real Madrid story.
Edu Aguirre, a journalist and friend of Ronaldo’s, claimed on Chiringuito TV on Sunday that the forward wants to return to the Bernabeu one day.
“I know for sure that Cristiano has a desire to return to Real Madrid,” Aguirre said, per Football Italia. “He felt the affection of Madrid when he came to Bernabeu, he was excited.
Aguirre continued by saying that Ronaldo is focused on Juventus but wouldn’t rule out a return to his old club.
“Now he is totally focused on Juventus, but in football, never say never,” he added.
“I don’t know what will happen in the future, nobody can know.”
Another season of Ronaldo versus Lionel Messi? Yes please.