Rene Meulensteen believes a Cristiano Ronaldo return to his roots could offer "some romance" to end his career, but only if the Portuguese superstar accepts a different role than what he's used to.
Ronaldo currently plays for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League but his contract is up at the end of the season, clearing the way for a move back to Europe next summer.
Meulensteen, who was on the coaching staff at Manchester United for the final two years of Ronaldo's first spell at Old Trafford, thinks it could be "nice" for the 39-year-old to return to Sporting CP more than 20 years after leaving the club.
"There would be some romance in Cristiano Ronaldo returning to Europe to finish his career off, but one of the problems we saw with Portugal is that the focus becomes all about Ronaldo," Meulensteen told Gambling Zone.
"It was all too focused on him which didn’t help, even though Ronaldo can still do a job as long as he understands his role and what he can contribute.
"He also needs to understand that he’s not the same player anymore, not the same as Cristiano Ronaldo when he was 28. He can still play an important role in many aspects.
"So yeah, I think it would be nice for a lot of reasons if he returned to Europe, maybe with Sporting.
"It will be really interesting to see when eventually he announces his retirement from football."
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