Cristiano Ronaldo turns up to Real Madrid's training to meet Ancelotti, video goes viral

Portuguese football great Cristiano Ronaldo paid a visit to his former club mates during Real Madrid’s training session in Saudi Arabia on Friday. Real Madrid are currently in Saudi Arabia, preparing for the Spanish Super Cup, which is scheduled to be played on January 16. As Ronaldo recently moved to the gulf country after signing for Al-Nassr, he decided to visit his former club and also joined his former teammates in the training session.

Ronaldo spent nine years with the Spanish giants from 2009 to 2018 and went on to become one of the best players to ever play for Madrid. He is the club’s highest-ever goal scorer with 450 goals in 438 games, alongside 131 assists. The 37-year-old won four out of the five Ballon d’Or trophies while playing for the LaLiga club.

Watch: Cristiano Ronaldo joins Real Madrid members in training session

Cristiano Ronaldo's professional football career after leaving Real Madrid

The Portuguese captain joined Juventus in 2018 after leaving Real Madrid and returned to his former club Manchester United in 2021. However, his time at the Premier League club was not smooth despite a fantastic 2021-22 season. He was the highest goal scorer for United last season with 18 goals in 30 games but the club suffered from a dismal season.

Prior to the ongoing season, Ronaldo was heavily linked with reports claiming that he is looking to exit the team and wished to play for a club where he can compete in the UEFA Champions League. While the club denied any such reports, Ronaldo found himself on the sidelines for various reasons as the 2022-23 season began. He was regularly snubbed from the team’s starting XI as new manager Erik ten Hag looked to revive the team.

Everything came to a boiling point in November 2022, when Ronaldo called out the club and its management ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2022. He labeled several sensational allegations against manager Erik ten Hag and also claimed that he doesn’t respect the coach because he never felt respected by him in return. The club and Ronaldo then mutually decided to part ways, which paved the path for his move to the Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr.