Cristiano Ronaldo exclusive: Real Madrid not interested in bringing Portugal striker back to Spain

Could Cristiano Ronaldo return to Real Madrid? That was the rumour that Josep Pedrerol, a journalist close to club president Florentino Pérez, sparked a few days ago in El Chiringuito, causing shockwaves in the world of football.

The Portuguese's disappointing time at Juventus, where his contract ends in the summer 2022, has led to speculation that the Serie A champions would welcome his departure and in Italy they have reportedly priced him at €29m.

However, Eurosport Spain's Football Insider Fermín de la Calle can exclusively reveal Real are very clear that Ronaldo is not a realistic option for them and there are three fundamental reasons.

Real are clear that their financial effort this summer will go towards signing the Paris Saint-Germain striker. Kylian Mbappe has already rejected up to three renewal offers from the French champions, forcing him to be put on the market this summer since his contract expires in 2022. The Frenchman is 22 years old and Pérez sees him as the face of football for the next decade. Ronaldo's time has passed.

Real cannot afford to sign Ronaldo because the Portuguese striker has a gross annual salary of €64m. That automatically rules him out in the eyes of Madrid, who have just renegotiated a 10% reduction to their first-team salaries. It seems obvious that Real Madrid would offer Ronaldo, who will be 36 at the end of this season, a much lower figure if they were keen to bring him back to the club. But in addition to trying to agree a wage cut, Perez would have to pay a €29m transfer fee to Juventus to land the deal.

Ronaldo and Perez are on bad terms. The Portuguese's departure from Real Madrid was caused by his fractious relationship with the Madrid president. The disagreements began several campaigns ago, but over the last few seasons it was made public. The two do not speak to each other and there are no calls or even contact made between them. It is Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes that is interested in reconciling, but Ronaldo has no relationship with Pérez.