After Portugal's World Cup exit, football star Cristiano Ronaldo was repeatedly seen at Real Madrid's Valdebebas training ground on Wednesday.

Sources told ESPN that he was training alone there as he prepares to take a decision on his future. Real Madrid gave him permission to train on a different field to the one which manager Carlo Ancelotti uses with his team, reported Football.london.

Ronaldo is currently without a club. He left Manchester United last month, and was linked with a move to Chelsea on a number of occasions. As per Goal, many believe that he will sign for Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr in January after Portugal's World Cup elimination at the quarter-final stage. But he denied last week that a deal had been done with them. Itt seems like he is set to return to Madrid on a limited basis while his future is decided.

During the FIFA World Cup 2022, he made a second-half substitute appearance in their quarterfinal defeat to Morocco on Saturday. Ronaldo, who led Portugal to their only major trophy win at Euro 2016, was dropped by coach Fernando Santos during their World Cup campaign. He scored just one goal, which was a penalty against Ghana, in his five appearances at the tournament.

Meanwhile, sources said that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner asked for permission to train at Real Madrid City on Wednesday to maintain his fitness. It was a request that was welcomed by the club. The relationship between him and Madrid took a hit when he left in 2018. He joined Juventus in a 100 million pounds ($10,65,05,000) deal.

But his relationship with Madrid has improved since then. In Madrid's history, he is the highest-scoring player. He won four Champions Leagues as well as two LaLiga titles in nine successful seasons at the club. After spending three years at Juventus, Ronaldo was linked with a return to Madrid last summer. But Ancelotti ruled out a move and the forward rejoined Manchester United.

His time with Manchester United came to an end last month after an explosive TV interview with Piers Morgan in which he slammed the club's manager Erik ten Hag. The club's executives released him as a free agent.

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo. Photo by: AFP/Kirill Kudryavtsev

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