Rafael Benitez and Cristiano Ronaldo
Football - Real Madrid Training - AAMI Park, Melbourne, Australia - 23/7/15 Real Madrid's manager Rafael Benitez and Cristiano Ronaldo during training REUTERS/Action Images/Jason O'Brien

Manchester United has been reported to be working on a new club-record deal to re-acquire Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as noted by Mirror.co.uk. The Red Devils have been planning to stage a return for Ronaldo as part of the club’s efforts to build a strong squad that can legitimately compete for a title.

Despite already being full of new talents after completing deals for Memphis Depay, Matteo Darmia, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Morgan Shcheiderlin, United is still determined to secure a marquee buy in the transfer market at the expense of Angel di Maria, who arrived at Old Trafford last year with a £59.7 million price tag. United explored the possibility of signing Ronaldo during David Moyes’ first transfer window in 2013, but the Portuguese star signed a new contract until 2018.

The 30-year-old Ronaldo, who left United six years ago for Real in a world record deal of £80million, was believed to be disgruntled with new Real coach Rafa Benitez’s training methods which could lead to his exit from Bernabeu. During the Real’s practice in Australia ahead of the team’s preseason friendly against Manchester City, Benitez ordered his players to try and hit the crossbar from afar. After the long-distance drill, the three-time Ballon d’Or winner was heard to say "It’s meant to be the ball in there, in the net. Not this s***" as noted by Telegraph via Spanish newspaper AS.

Ronaldo was also alleged to have been unhappy with Benitez’s refereeing in one of the team’s training match with Spanish television recording him throw a temper at the new coach after disallowing one of his goals. The Portuguese footballer also accused Benitez of only penalising Portuguese players during the training skirmish. He was caught by Spanish TV cameras saying “he gives everything against the Portuguese.”

Meanwhile, the 55-year-old Benitez appeared to be unconcerned about Ronaldo’s attitude towards him and instead praised Ronaldo during a press-conference in Australia. According to Fox Sports, Benitez had the chance to spend “quite a few days” with Ronaldo earlier this week. He added that Ronaldo is competitive and “the best in the world” in playing football.

"There are those who are speculating on this or that but I can assure you that the relationship is totally normal,” Benitez added. "He has great quality and that’s what makes him the best player in the world.”

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