Manchester United Transfer News: Cristiano Ronaldo Rumours Grow in Spanish Media

Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly "hovering by the phone" as he weighs up a potential return to former club Manchester United, which may not be too far away given his current woes at Real Madrid.

The Los Blancos superstar has cut a frustrated figure of late and rumours have continued to circulate linking him with a move away from the Bernabeu to United or Paris Saint-Germain, per Antony Kastrinakis in the Sun.

Jose Felix Diaz in Marca reports that the Red Devils are the favourites to re-sign Ronaldo, with the Portuguese having promised former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson when he made his switch to Real in 2009 that he would return to the club one day:

"He hasn't put a date on the grand reunion, but with things as they stand with Real, it might not be all that long in coming."

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Diaz added that the wide smile worn by Ferguson at the premiere of the 30-year-old's film, Ronaldo, on Monday was an indication that he is set to make good on his promise.

Indeed, the lack of Real Madrid presence at the opening of Ronaldo's documentary in London—even president Florentino Perez failed to show—was reportedly an indicator of the fraying relationship between the player and his current club, per Marca's J.L. Calderon.

According to Calderon, Ronaldo is not on good terms with new manager Rafael Benitez and the pair just "don't seem to see eye to eye."

While he is still a guaranteed starter—there would likely be uproar from fans if he wasn't—his importance as the No. 1 Real star under Benitez is seemingly diminishing, and in recent performances he has looked out of sorts, per Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe:

The stars now seem to be aligning for Ronaldo to make what would be a hero's return to United.

The former Sporting Lisbon player has been consistently non-committal on his future of late, often trotting out the response that it cannot be predicted what will happen in the coming months, per German magazine Kicker (via Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN FC).

Ronaldo's refusal to rule out a move is an indication that he is not happy at the Bernabeu, football writer Miguel Delaney:

His current contract in Madrid runs until 2018, but it is becoming less and less likely that he will see that deal through to the end.

If he is indeed unhappy at Real, Los Blancos may decide to cash in on their star man, as he would still demand a similar transfer fee to the £80 million they paid for him in 2009.

United would likely be prepared to stump up the cash to bring him back to Old Trafford and Ronaldo is seemingly leaning towards a return to Manchester.