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Is Cristiano Ronaldo plotting a Premier League reunion with Carlo Ancelotti?

By Rucker Haringey

Jun 22, 2014; Manaus, Amazonas, BRAZIL; Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo (7) reacts to missing a shot during the second half of their 2-2 tie with the United States in a 2014 World Cup game at Arena Amazonia. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 22, 2014; Manaus, Amazonas, BRAZIL; Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo (7) reacts to missing a shot during the second half of their 2-2 tie with the United States in a 2014 World Cup game at Arena Amazonia. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cristiano Ronaldo has gone on record saying he’d like to play for Ancelotti again in the midst of many transfer rumors about the Real Madrid star

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo is a savvy veteran who doesn’t make any comments to the media without an express purpose. That fact makes his recent comments about teaming up again with former manager Carlo Ancelotti again so intriguing.

On the surface, they seem like fairly innocent comments by Ronaldo. Maybe they are innocent. Maybe he was simply asked a question about a former manager that he liked and responded with an off-hand comment about wanting to play for him again some day as he was overcome with nostalgia. Maybe Ronaldo hasn’t taken a selfie in his life either.

No, I think his comments about Ancelotti tell us quite a bit about the Portuguese star’s future plans. In case you’ve been living under a rock somewhere, Ronaldo transfer rumors are more common than tweets about the Syrian refugee crisis. You can’t open a tabloid without reading some half-cocked report about Ronaldo to Manchester United, Chelsea or some other Premier League club. Let’s just say there’s a lot of smoke around the possibility of Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid sooner rather than later.

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You could choose to view these two stories as independent issues, but that would be a huge mistake. The momentum behind the Ronaldo transfer stories and Carlo Ancelotti’s future might be intricately linked together.

Consider the fact that Ancelotti is going to be mentioned for every big time Premier League managerial opening until he selects his next project. He could easily end up as the next manager for Manchester United, Chelsea or Manchester City. All of these destinations have been rumored for him to varying degrees.

Not coincidentally, these are the same clubs that are most-often rumored to be destinations for Ronaldo as well. There’s a general consensus in the football world that the talented attacker wants a move back to the Premier League in the next year or two. There hasn’t been a real consensus on which club he’d most want to join though. I don’t think Ronaldo has a strong preference about what club he’s going to join in England. He just wants to select a club where he can win silverware and feel comfortable.

Given Ronaldo’s admitted affection for Ancelotti, it’s impossible to envision a more comfortable Premier League situation for him than playing for his former manager at one of the big clubs. Ronaldo is using the carrot of his impending transfer to encourage a big Premier League side to go ahead and install Ancelotti as their new manager. He may be doing this just to help out an old friend, but I think it’s much more likely he’s trying to set up a favorable situation for his Premier League return.

It may not work out for Carlo Ancelotti and Cristiano Ronaldo to work together again in the Premier League, but I think it’s something both men would like to see happen. When two powerful men like these both want something to happen, it has a way of working out.

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