Ronaldo a "much better than evens" chance to join United

Graham Hunter makes the bold claim in a column today that there is a "much better than evens" chance that Cristiano Ronaldo will return to Manchester United.

Before you get too excited, these chances specifically refer to him joining United at all, not this season. Hunter claims that this is most likely to happen when his contract has less time to run on it - so, next summer, or the one after it.

Hunter makes the reasonable point that the 2014 off-season will largely be taken up by the World Cup, which will leave Real Madrid just a few months to sort out Ronaldo's contract before, in January, he can sign an agreement for any club he wishes and leave for free. That means that Madrid will, of course, either cash in for a vastly reduced price late in the window, or attempt to renegotiate and risk losing him for nothing. If Ronaldo does decide to leave, United would be favourites to secure his signature.

So, food for thought. I think the prospect of us splashing out a ridiculous amount to land Ronnie this summer is looking increasingly unlikely, but Hunter makes a very good case for us landing him next summer or the one after. We've looked at this as a possibility before, but the argument being put forward here is that it is actually overwhelmingly likely to happen should contract talks fail with Madrid. Something to keep an eye on in the coming season...