Real Madrid transfer news: Zinedine Zidane admits Cristiano Ronaldo rumours ‘could be true’

Cristiano Ronaldo
(Image credit: PA)

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has refused to rule out a move for Cristiano Ronaldo this summer.

The Portugal international left Madrid for Juventus in 2018 but he could be on his way out of Serie A this summer.

Andrea Pirlo’s side were knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage last week.

They were also eliminated in the first knockout round last term, following a quarter-final defeat by Ajax in Ronaldo’s debut campaign in Turin.

The former Madrid man has been an individual success at Juventus, but some believes the club has actually gone backwards during his time there.

And with Ronaldo out of contract in 2022, there have been suggestions that Juve could look to cash in on their star man at the end of the season.

Madrid have been linked with a move for the man who helped them win four Champions League titles during his time in the Spanish capital.

And Zidane declined the opportunity to dismiss the rumours when they were put to him ahead of Madrid’s meeting with Atalanta on Tuesday.

"Rumours are true? Yes, it could be,” the Madrid boss told Sky Italia

“We know Cristiano, we know what he has done for Real Madrid, but now he is a Juve player, he is playing with another team. We'll see what his future will be."

Meanwhile, Zidane confirmed that Eden Hazard will play no part against Atalanta on Tuesday, as Madrid seek to extend their 1-0 aggregate lead.

The Belgium international’s time in Spain has been disrupted by a series of injury problems.

"He won't be fit,” Zidane said. They're things that I can't explain. I want to be positive and hope that it's not too much of a problem.

"Something's up, because he was never injured in his entire career [before joining Real] or there were very few injuries.

"It's something new. I can't really give any more of an explanation. We want to help him and hope he's back as soon as possible. 

"We're going to try and figure out why it's happening (the club's injuries), but right now we can't explain it. We've spoken about things like the lack of pre-season, amount of games and the mental aspect."

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