Reports emanating from England and Spain are speculating that Cristiano Ronaldo is approaching an end to his time at Real Madrid. Although the player himself has professed his “happiness” at his current club, Ronaldo has also confessed that a return to Old Trafford is very much in his thoughts.

Just last week, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner told the Daily Mail, “I love Manchester. Everyone knows that – I have said it many times. Manchester is in my heart. I left many good friends there, the supporters are amazing and I wish I can come back one day.”

“I am happy here in Real Madrid and have four more years, but in the future you never know because they treated me unbelievably there.”

“I really did love being at Manchester United.”

Rumors of a Ronaldo return to Old Trafford have begun to make the rounds over the past few days.

Some English papers have speculated that Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is unhappy with Real Madrid’s treatment of Angel Di Maria, as well as the events which led to Radamel Falcao ending up in Manchester rather than Madrid. Now, the powerful Portuguese super agent is engineering a move that will bring Ronaldo back to the Theatre of Dreams.

Another report stated that Madrid president Florentino Perez was unable to pull the trigger on Falcao because he had already green lit the big-money signings of Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez earlier in the summer. The belief being Perez was concerned with his club’s standing within UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations. So he decided against signing Falcao during this past window, but has a deal in place to bring the striker in next summer with Ronaldo going the other way to Manchester.

Sky Sports Spanish football expert Guillem Balague added his thoughts on a possible Ronaldo return to Old Trafford during an interview with Mutiny Press.

“Let’s say…that I think Cristiano Ronaldo will go back. When will that be? I have a good idea, but I’m not going to say it!”

“I think he’s happy at Madrid. I think they’ve given him what he wanted [but] there’s something with the Premier League and him, not unfinished business but a love, which will want him back.”

“Real Madrid buy and sell players like a business, with Manchester United it all goes back to that love of football as a kid.”

“What he’s going to have to decide is if he does come back, he’s going to be fighting against his own shadow, and his body which is giving him a lot of trouble.”

“He’ll be welcomed back by the fans, but I don’t think he’ll forgive himself. It’ll be an exciting process, but we’ll have to see.”

Ronaldo will be 30 years old at the conclusion of the 2014-15 season and recurring injuries have begun to take a toll on the amount of time he has seen on the pitch.

A fact of life is, the older you get, the more time it takes to recover from injuries. Also, injuries become more and more frequent because your body simply starts to break down.

Ronaldo’s work ethic has been lauded by everyone in football. He has made himself into arguably the best player in the world through years of focus, hard work, training and diet.

But over the past year, his body has frequently failed him. There is no doubt that he realizes it, and Madrid have begun to notice it too.

That’s why last season they agreed to the mega-money deal for Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur, and signed off on the transfers of Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez this summer.

As much as Real Madrid have prospered with Ronaldo in their squad, football is a business. Florentino Perez has had to make decisions like these in the past and he has never hesitated to do what he believes is best for the club.

Ronaldo has two or three years left (at best) of being able to play on a level where he would still be considered the “best” or one of the top three players in the world. The gamble for Perez is, how long does he wait before pulling the trigger and/or allowing the Portuguese player to leave?

The longer the Real Madrid president waits, the greater the chances of Ronaldo picking up another injury (perhaps serious) and seeing his market value drop.

As much of a cash machine as Madrid is, the club will want to recoup as much money as possible in any transfer involving Ronaldo. The La Liga giants aren’t going to let the two-time Ballon d’Or winner leave on a “free” when his contract runs out in four years. That would just be bad business.

That is why is likely that Ronaldo will leave Real Madrid and return to Manchester United within the next two transfer windows; the strongest likelihood being next summer.

The move would allow Madrid to recover some of the £80 million it spent bringing Ronaldo to Spain five years ago. Speculation in the media is that Manchester United are willing to spend between £55-60 million to secure a move for the Portugal international in January or next summer.

A Ronaldo return would also make sense for United because the club would ideally have one of the world’s best players in their first team for the next two to three seasons.

Not to mention that Manchester’s global commercial machine would be able to continue filling the club’s coffers with revenue made from merchandising and sponsorship deals aided by the “homecoming” of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Sports fans have seen what the return of LeBron James to Cleveland has done in the United States. Cristiano Ronaldo returning to Manchester United would trump that by tenfold.

The English club were rumored to have wanted to bring the player “home” last summer. But it wasn’t the right time for either club – or the player.

But the timing is right for Ronaldo to have his homecoming in Manchester. The likelihood of it happening within the next two transfer windows is high.