Report: Cristiano Ronaldo Open to Leaving Juventus for Real Madrid Return

Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo would be open to a return to Real Madrid this summer, according to Marca's Nuno Luz.

"He left Madrid for Turin with the understanding that he would be the centre of a project aimed at winning the Champions League, in an attempt to make Juventus the European force that Real Madrid had been," the report said.

"But things haven't gone that way, and he has only made it as far as the quarterfinals once. Due to those struggles, he's ready to leave Juventus."

Speaking with DAZN (h/t Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano), Juve vice president Pavel Nedved ruled out a Ronaldo transfer and called him "untouchable."

However, Mirko Calemme of AS reported Juventus could be more amenable if a club is willing to pay at least €25 million.

As much as Ronaldo is reportedly frustrated at the club's inability to progress beyond the round of 16 in the Champions League, it's fair to wonder whether the feeling is mutual.

Having won seven straight Serie A titles to that point, Juventus paid a reported €100 million transfer fee and gave Ronaldo a contract worth £500,000 weekly to win another Champions League title. But that hasn't translated to glory in Europe's premier club competition. 

The 36-year-old has scored 95 goals in 123 appearances across all competitions, but that comes at the cost of orienting the attack around an aging forward with diminishing physical gifts. Even ignoring the small role he played in Sergio Oliveira's matchup-winning goal, Ronaldo struggled to make much of an impact over the two legs against Porto in this year's round of 16 as Juventus were eliminated.

Real Madrid can use that same logic to question whether a move for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner makes sense.

Madrid has clearly struggled to replace Ronaldo since his departure in 2018. The £88.5 million addition of Eden Hazard looked a little questionable at the time and has only gotten worse as injuries have limited the Belgian to 25 La Liga appearances over the past two seasons.

The version of Ronaldo that Real Madrid would be getting now isn't the same one who left, though.

Karim Benzema is one of the best strikers in the world as well, and the No. 9 role he occupies overlaps a lot with how Ronaldo is utilized now. Attempting to accommodate the two into the same lineup may limit Benzema's contributions.

It wouldn't be a shock to see Ronaldo leave Juventus in the summer; a reunion in the Spanish capital would be somewhat expected even with his previous experience in the Santiago Bernabeu.