CRISTIANO RONALDO wants to hang up his boots at Manchester United when he retires from playing.
The Portugal star is then keen to go into coaching at the club – which could see him overseeing the progress of his son Cristiano Jr.
The 36-year-old signed a two-year deal with the option of a third year in August when his sensational return to the Premier League was announced.
But both he and United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are confident he will be able to continue playing at the top level until past his 40th birthday.
Ronaldo is then tempted to step into a coaching role at the Red Devils where he feels he developed the most after being signed as an 18-year-old by Alex Ferguson.
And that could then see him guiding Cristiano Jr, who is 11 and has started training at United.
Cristiano Jr was put through his paces by coaches at United’s Littleton Road training complex in Salford earlier this month.
The youngster smiled as he was pictured along with United midfielder Nemanja Matic’s ten-year-old son Filip in full United training kit.
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Cristiano Jr has previously played for Juventus’ youth sides and scored four goals on his debut aged nine.
A source said: “Ronaldo has made it clear to everyone he has come back to United to help them win trophies.
“But in his mind he is going to play for them for more than a couple of years.
“He is still at the peak of his physical fitness and loves showing that nothing is impossible.
“He is obsessed with football and knows everything about the game.
“Lots of players have started their coaching career at United so he thinks it could be a good way of starting off the next chapter of his career.”
Ronaldo has also made it clear he wants his son to follow in his footsteps
He said: “I would love for him to be a footballer, because he feels passion for this sport. He is a competitor and he hates losing.
“He’s fast and he’s driven. But this is nothing, it takes a lot of dedication.
“Sometimes when we’re at home I say ‘go to the treadmill to run a bit’.
“Then after the treadmill I say, ‘now go to the cold water to recover to do it tomorrow again’. And he says, ‘daddy, it’s so cold the water I don’t want to do it’. But I understand it.”
