Caughtoffside: Cristiano Ronaldo set for sporting Lisbon transfer

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to sign for Sporting Lisbon, according to @caughtoffside.

The outlet tweeted “Cristiano Ronaldo is on the verge of signing for Sporting Lisbon.

“The club are going to begin presentation preparations from tomorrow. Deal 99% done.

“Jorge Mendes worked around the clock to find a solution.

“Sporting squad have been preparing for Ronaldo's return for weeks.”

@Caughtoffside are in themselves not a tiered source but they do work on a daily basis with transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano. This gives the report some credibility.

Ronaldo has made no secret of the fact that he wants to leave Manchester United because he wants to play in the Champions League.

Sporting, his former club, appear to be the only team in the competition who have offered the 37 year old a place.

The details of the deal are not yet disclosed by @Caughtoffside, but given his enormous salary, it is likely that United have agreed to a loan and to partially fund his wages.

Alternatively, the forward may have agreed to play for a vastly reduced salary.

All will become clear if the report proves to be valid.

The statement by caughtoffside that the squad has been preparing for weeks is strange considering Ronaldo himself dismissed the links as “fake news” some time ago.