Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane made a surprising admission when asked about recent rumours linking Cristiano Ronaldo with a sensational return to Spain.
Read: Zidane Reacts To 'Ronaldo Return' Rumours
On Monday, the Frenchman addressed members of the media ahead of the second leg of his side's crucial UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie against Atalanta.
Among other topics, Zidane spoke about speculation suggesting that club-record goalscorer Ronaldo could return to the Santiago Bernabeu, and admitted the move could happen.
"Rumours about Ronaldo's return to Real Madrid are true? Yes, it could be," he told Sky Sports.
"We know Cristiano but he's a Juve player now, and we have to honour this (his contract), he's playing for another club.
"Now let us see what the future will be."
This is the first time Zidane is opening the door to a potential Ronaldo return after initially opting not to respond to any questions about the rumours on Friday.
Ronaldo has scored 95 goals since joining Juventus from Los Blancos at a cost of €100 million (R1.8 billion) in 2018, and scored the 770th goal of his career with his hat-trick against Cagliari over the weekend.
As many as 450 of those strikes came in Real's colours, with many fans dreaming of the superstar's return to Madrid.
See below where Ronaldo ranks among these season's top goalscorers in Europe so far!
