Sporting Lisbon sporting director Hugo Viana does not believe it will be "possible" for Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo to return to his boyhood club.
Speculation concerning the Portuguese star's future has been a hot topic over the last 24 hours, following reports that new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly had met Jorge Mendes and discussed the prospect of luring Ronaldo to Stamford Bridge. However, United are adamant that he will not be sold this summer and he is set to play a key part in Erik ten Hag's plans this forthcoming season.
The former Real Madrid man returned to United almost a year ago from Juventus and enjoyed an excellent first campaign back at Old Trafford, scoring 24 goals in all competitions. He was the club's best outfielder player by a country mile and Ten Hag is looking to maximise his outstanding talent this term.
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And Sporting director Viana, who played alongside Ronaldo for a brief period at the start of their respective careers, believes the United ace will play a key part in what Ten Hag will attempt to build at Old Trafford. Viana admitted the landscape of United is starting to change for the better, for Ronaldo as well as the team.
"It's time for Man United to stabilise, create a good spirit inside of the club and from what I can see from outside, even though I don't know for sure, it's something that has not happened until now, Viana told Sky Sports. "But there is always time to rebuild everything, and with players like Cristiano there is a player that scores 20-25 goals per season.
"It is really important to haver that kind of player in your team."
Amid reports connecting Ronaldo with a move to Chelsea, Viana was asked if he thought there would ever be a chance that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, one day, would return to Sporting. Although nothing can be ruled out in football, the Sporting chief believes that in itself is unlikely.
Viana added: "Not now, I don't think that will be possible. However, you never know.
"I think he can decide where he can go, but you never know the future. I don't want to talk a lot about that because I think it will be all the time. When we speak about Cristiano it is quite different.
"I think he has one more year on his contract so whatever he decides, let's see."
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