Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has moved to cool speculation over a possible reunion with Cristiano Ronaldo, insisting he has never considered signing the Juventus forward.
Reports in Spain yesterday claimed Ancelotti was personally pushing to bring Ronaldo back to Madrid three years after he was sold to Juventus for nearly $120 million. Ronaldo is in the final season of his contract with Juventus but has offered no indication that he may be tempted to leave the Italian giants.
Meanwhile Madrid's recent obsession has proven to be Kylian Mbappe, who will be out of contract at Paris Saint-Germain in less than 12 months. Whether a move for the France striker materializes this summer or next Ancelotti has moved to distance himself from talk that Ronaldo could return to La Liga.
"Cristiano is a Real Madrid legend and has all my love and respect," Ancelotti wrote on Twitter. "Never have I tried to sign him. We're looking forward."
Cristiano es una leyenda del Real Madrid y tiene todo mi cariño y respeto. Nunca me he planteado ficharle. Miramos hacia adelante. #HalaMadrid
— Carlo Ancelotti (@MrAncelotti) August 17, 2021
Ronaldo is Real Madrid's all time record goal scorer, having scored 451 times in 438 appearances for Los Merengues between 2009 and 2018. Between 2013 and 2015 he was managed by Ancelotti, winning the Champions League in 2014 and scoring more than a goal a game in each season.
Following his departure from Spain Ronaldo blamed a shifting relationship with club president Florentino Perez, believing that he was no longer viewed as "indispensable" by the man who remains the most powerful voice at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Ronaldo has also been linked with a return to Manchester United or a move to Paris Saint-Germain but with both sides having made sizeable investment in the transfer window this summer it remains doubtful whether they could absorb a salary believed to be in the region of $35 million a year.
