Sporting Lisbon ‘dreaming’ of Cristiano Ronaldo transfer but manager Ruben Amorim explains potential stumbling block in move for Manchester United star

Sporting Lisbon ‘dreams of the return’ of Cristiano Ronaldo, according to manager Ruben Amorim.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner may be a football icon for a goal-laden career with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, however it was the Portuguese side who gave him his big break.

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Ronaldo made 31 appearances for Sporting as a fresh-faced teenager before famously impressing Sir Alex Ferguson in a pre-season friendly in 2003 which led to his move to Old Trafford.

In the present day, the 37-year-old is a divisive figure for the Red Devils with his future very much up in the air following a high-profile fallout with Erik ten Hag, leading to speculation about a move away from the club in the January transfer window.

With Sporting one of the clubs in contention to sign Ronaldo, Amorim gave his view on the current situation.

He said: “I don’t know. Ronaldo is a top player, a Manchester United player.

“Everyone in Sporting dreams of the return of Cristiano, so I don’t want to speak about that.

“He’s a Manchester United player, a top player, and he will be for a few months.

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“I’ll answer the same way because a lot of journalists ask me the same question. He [Ronaldo] is a Manchester United player.

“Everybody in Sporting dreams of the return for Cristiano but we don’t have the money to pay his wages. I think he’s happy in Manchester but he’s not playing so that’s the problem.

“I have my problems with some of Sporting’s players so it’s [Erik] Ten Hag’s problem, I’m very happy with my players – no problem at all. At the moment I just want to beat Tottenham. “