Former Manchester United fitness coach Mick Clegg, who worked with Ronaldo, said Ronaldo would be willing to become Manchester United's manager or owner.
Clegg served as Manchester United's strength and conditioning coach for 11 years and had a very close relationship with Ronaldo. When an 18-year-old Ronaldo walked into the gym, he told Clegg he planned to become the best player in the world.
"I think he would like to try being a head coach," Clegg said. "To be honest, he's worked under so many head coaches. He's also seen many problems with coaches, and he knows what kind of coaches are good and what kind aren't."
"I think he would be an excellent coach because he is open-minded and willing to listen to others. He understands himself and everything happening around him."
Clegg is confident that Ronaldo is already planning his football career after retirement. If coaching doesn't work out, he believes Ronaldo might move into club ownership. Whichever role it is, he thinks Ronaldo is very likely to return to Manchester United.
"I think he'd be willing to be Manchester United's manager or owner," he said. "He's that kind of person: always planning... He's a natural planner; he never just waits for things to happen."
"He's always been like that. That's why he planned his move to Real Madrid back then, even though everyone at the time thought that once he joined Manchester United, he would play for the club his whole career. But that wasn't the case; he had already planned to leave. In his eyes, he was just an apprentice at Manchester United. I knew what he was thinking at the time and understood how much effort he put into achieving his goals, and I felt rather bad about it."
"But he truly loves Manchester United. I think that experience left a deep mark on him, because he knows everyone there and loves the place deeply."
Before Ronaldo announced his retirement from the Portuguese national team, he clashed with newly appointed coach Jorge Jesus during the training camp of the last international break, and the five-time Ballon d'Or winner ultimately left the camp.
But Clegg does not believe Ronaldo acted out of arrogance, nor does he think Ronaldo could not accept no longer being the national team's central figure.
"I don't think he's so self-centered that he always thinks he's the best," he said. "He would judge whether he is the best player at a given moment based on a thorough understanding of himself, his teammates, the entire team, the head coach, and the coaching staff."
"Top players usually retire between 33 and 35, and he is still playing past 40. He knows that someday he has to end his career... but I think he's already well prepared for that."
Clegg, a fitness expert, now runs his own gym in Ashton-under-Lyne, where he coaches young footballers, and is also an expert at PEAK4, a professional organization for workplace health and performance. He said the Ronaldo he knows would certainly feel uncomfortable seeing the recent headlines and fallout from his conflict with Jesus. He also recalled an incident from Ronaldo's first few days in the gym at the Carrington training ground, when Ronaldo made clear his determination to improve.
"When he first came into the gym, he told me, 'I know Giggs is the most diligent person here at the gym'—and at the time, Giggs really was the most disciplined—'I want to do better than him,'" Clegg recalled.
"So he was already determined back then: 'I'm going to use Giggs as a benchmark, first catch up to his level, and then naturally surpass him.' And in the end, his career was indeed longer, slightly longer than Ryan's (Giggs)."