Porto President claims nobody in Portugal can afford Ronaldo

Porto President Pinto da Costa has claimed nobody in Portugal can afford Cristiano Ronaldo's wage demands, as the legendary forward seeks a new club following his Manchester United exit.

The Portuguese superstar remains without a club after his second spell at Manchester United ended in acrimonious circumstances last month, following a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan.

The prospect of Ronaldo returning to Portuguese football has been raised as a possibility, but da Costa suggested the 37-year-old is unlikely to return home to continue his career.

Da Costa suggested to Portuguese newspaper Record that his salary expectations would likely prove too great.

'It's up to him and the clubs interested,' da Costa said.

'But in Portugal, nobody has the capacity to give him what he earns and still wants to earn. And he has value for that.'

Ronaldo has been without a club since his bombshell interview last month, where he was scathing in his criticism of Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, the Glazer family and several aspects of how the club is being run.

His exit was agreed by mutual consent and Sportsmail revealed United did not pay any compensation for the remaining seven months of his £500,000-a-week contract at Old Trafford.

European giants Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have all ruled Ronaldo out of their plans.

Wages are expected to be an issue for other potential suitors including Napoli and Sporting Lisbon - his first professional club.

Manchester United were reportedly prepared to facilitate Ronaldo's exit in the summer in a cut-price deal, but several clubs reportedly turned down the chance.

Clubs had reportedly been given the opportunity to sign the five-time Ballon d'Or winner for as little as £80,000-a-week, with the Red Devils open to paying part of his wages.

In his interview with Morgan, Ronaldo revealed last summer he rejected an offer from a Saudi Arabian club thought to be worth north of £300million-a-year.

Earlier this month, he dismissed as 'not true' the rumours suggesting he had penned a two-and-a-half-year deal worth around £173million-a-season with Saudi club Al-Nassr.

Ronaldo has been training with Real Madrid to maintain his fitness, following Portugal's World Cup exit.

Ronaldo is one of a group of ten players who have fallen silent after the dismissal of Portugal manager Fernando Santos following their World Cup quarter-final exit.

The star was dropped by Santos for the knockout games against Switzerland and Morocco.