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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Daniel Orme

Cristiano Ronaldo spotted at Real Madrid training ground amid search for new club

Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly back training with former club Real Madrid as he aims to reach a decision over his future.

The Portuguese currently finds himself without a club following the cancellation of his Man Utd contract in the aftermath of his explosive interview with Piers Morgan. He is now free to focus on finding a new club following Portugal's World Cup elimination at the hands of Morocco on Saturday.

Whilst he is currently not playing football, the veteran forward is attempting to keep up his fitness having returned to train with the Spanish giants Real. As per Spanish outlet Revelo, the striker has gone back to Los Blancos’ Valdebebas training ground to work on an individual programme.

He did apparently not have any contact with his former teammates, with his return only being part of an agreement for Ronaldo to have a private place to train, although it has been reported that some of the club's young players were excited to meet Ronaldo and have pictures taken with him.

Whilst Real supporters might get excited at the prospect of Ronaldo being back at Santiago Bernabeu following his outstanding stint with the Spanish club, it appears that a deal is not in the offing for the current time at the very least. Despite the 37-year-old having prioritised a switch back to Madrid in the summer, neither Real or their fierce rivals Atletico are interested in pursuing his services - t he latter having been linked strongly.

Speaking about the Spanish club back in 2019 whilst he was still with Juventus, he said: “I miss both of them [ Manchester United and Real Madrid], but I spent more time at Real Madrid and my family grew up here so I miss Real Madrid more. It wasn’t easy to leave Real Madrid after nine years."

Cristiano Ronaldo trains with Real Madrid back in 2015 (Getty Images)

Where do you think Ronaldo will go following his Man Utd exit? Share your thoughts in the comments below

Ronaldo certainly has a decision to make on his future in the coming weeks with the January transfer window approaching. Saudi outfit Al-Nassr have been linked with a mega-money swoop for his services.

The club’s manager Rudi Garcia has already expressed his excitement at working with the forward. He said: “I think that any coach would be delighted to train a great star like Cristiano and already in November 2021 I was very close to going to United.

“They chose Ralf Rangnick, but I met twice with John Murtough and Darren Fletcher [United's director of football and technical director respectively].

“I came very close to coaching this club and was very motivated to go, who wouldn't be motivated to coach United? Any coach. United's simple interest has allowed me to be sure of my ambitions in the future.

“I have always thought that the great players are the easiest to manage because they are very intelligent, I verified this with Francesco Totti at Roma.”

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