Cristiano Ronanldo on 'comeback' at Man Utd and Real Madrid | Photo Credit: AP

The year 2018 was quite eventful for Cristiano Ronaldo, who sought a high-profile move away from Real Madrid to Juventus in the summer. With his new club, Ronaldo also got the opportunity to play against former club Manchester United in the Champions League, a platform that also saw him scoring against the Red Devils in the return Group stage fixture in Turin. Reflecting on the past year, Ronaldo revealed how special the two clubs have been in his career so far.

Speaking about the two biggest on-field talking points of his career in 2018, Ronaldo explained the special experience he had as he returned to Old Trafford during the UCL encounter with Juve. In an interview with Portuguese newspaper Record, the 33-year-old said: "Manchester? It was a great comeback, the Manchester fans have always welcomed me like when I played at Old Trafford.”

Ronaldo had the same level of praise for Santiago Bernabeu, a stadium that he hasn't been to as a player since his departure from Spain. Speaking about a possible return, Ronaldo said that he expects the fans to receive him well whenever the opportunity of him making a comeback there comes as an ex-player.

"Even the Santiago Bernabeu was my home for many years and will always be a very special stadium for me. I will always have a great affection for that club and those fans with great pleasure and I expect to be well received."

The importance of Ronaldo's role at Real Madrid can be understood with the fact that despite leaving the club in summer, the Portuguese ended 2018 as Los Blancos' top-scorer, ahead of Gareth Bale.

For the Old Lady, on the other hand, Cristiano finished the year as the club's second-highest scorer, behind Paulo Dybala despite joining the club mid-season.

Ronaldo ended the year with a total of 49 goals for club and country (Real Madrid, Juventus and Portugal) while his arch-rival Lionel Messi concluded the year with 51 goals for club and country (Barcelona and Argentina).