Jose Fonte Says Ronaldo Would "Love Madrid" Return, As Real Madrid Maintain "He Time Is Past"

It should not be surprising if Cristiano Ronaldo heads back to Real Madrid in summer as Inter Milan are contemplating selling him to the Spaniards in a quest to raise funds as the lockdown for COVID-19 pandemic has hit hard on their financial records.

Real reportedly are not keen to have Ronaldo back in Bernabeu but his Portugal teammate Jose Fontes believes the five-time Ballon d'Or would "love" because of his affinity for the club.

"I know he loves Madrid, that's for sure," Fonte told talkSPORT. "It's clear that he loves the club itself, it's one of the biggest clubs in the world, if not the biggest."

Ronaldo has spent two seasons in Turin after leaving Real in 2018 and has led Inter to win the Italia Serie A back-to-back. Sending him back to Spain in summer will abruptly end his four-year contract midway. He was signed Inter in a £100 million deal and earns as much as £510,000-a-week from the contract. Apparently, this is not in line with Real's plan.

Fonte added, "He's left many, many friends there and he's always left the door open. So I wouldn't be surprised if he goes back to Real Madrid."

Meanwhile, Real have a different plan and would rather go for Paris Saint Germain forward Kylian Mbappe and Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba than bring the Portuguese back to Bernabeu.

According to AS, the 33-year-old's time at the club is "past" and as far as the club's plan is concerned, the forward "does not fit into the club's policy".

Ronaldo reign at Bernabeu for eight seasons after a move from Manchester United in 2009. During this stint, he won eight silverware for the side including four Champions League titles and two La Liga titles.