‘My coach has been massacred’ – Ronaldo transfer ‘never on the table’ for Sporting, insists club president

Ronaldo was linked with Sporting in summerManager Amorim allegedly threatened to quitPresident Varandas has refuted such claims

WHAT HAPPENED? Ronaldo has been continuously linked with a homecoming at his boyhood club since handing in a transfer request at Manchester United in the summer. It was reported that Sporting coach Ruben Amorim allegedly threatened to quit if the Portuguese was signed. Amorim insisted that “there’s not much to say” when addressing the speculation once again this month, and Sporting president Varandas has now come out to defend the manager and set the record straight on links with Ronaldo once and for all.

WHAT THEY SAID: “For six months my coach has been massacred with this. There never really was anything. Out of respect for Cristiano Ronaldo, the national team and Man United, I will not feed any noise. He’s committed to winning the World Cup title,” he told RTP.

“He [Amorim] didn’t veto it, because it wasn’t an issue. It wasn’t on the table. There was never a conversation with Hugo Viana [Sporting’s director of football] or Amorim about this.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: After Ronaldo’s explosive interview with Piers Morgan, in which he hit out at Manchester United’s board and manager Erik ten Hag, speculation regarding his future at the club has gone into overdrive. Sporting are still the favourites to snap up the 37-year-old in January, but it remains to be seen whether they will submit a formal offer.

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WHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO? The forward is currently with the Portugal national team preparing himself for the upcoming World Cup, with a group stage opener against Ghana on the cards on November 24.