Manchester United have reached an agreement to bring Cristiano Ronaldo back to the Theatre of Dreams. United said the deal for the 36-year-old five-time Ballon d’Or winner was subject to personal terms, visa and medical.
Ronaldo spent six years scoring 118 goals in 292 games in his first spell at United between 2003-2009, winning three Premier League titles, the Champions League, the Club World Cup, the FA Cup and the League Cup. He left for Real Madrid in 2009 for a then world record fee of €94m where he won it all before leaving for Juventus in the summer of 2018.
Ronaldo told the Juventus board of his intention to leave club and it was confirmed by Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri on Thursday morning. Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, offered him to Manchester City and it was looking like a done deal until United entered the race to bring their legend and this made the Cityzens pull out of the race.
Report has it that Sir Alex Ferguson reached out to Cristiano Ronaldo to convince him to re-join the red devils, and a quite number of his United former teammates texted him to turn down Manchester City and consider a return to Old Trafford.
Guardiola said earlier in his pre-match interview: “Cristiano was at Juventus, I think a Juventus player. Only I can say that in three or four days left in the transfer window, everything can happen.
“In my personal view there are few players, Ronaldo and Messi included, that they decide where they are going to play. They are the leading role in the negotiations. Right now I’m delighted with the squad we have and we’ll stay the same.”
Meanwhile, while Ole gunnar solskjaer was speaking at his news conference, he had this to say about Ronaldo’s intention to leave Juventus:
“I didn’t think Cristiano would leave Juventus,” he said, “If he ever wants to move away from Juventus he knows we are here.
“For me he is the greatest player of all time. We have had a bit of communication and I know Bruno has been talking to him as well. There’s been a lot of speculation the last few days.
“Let’s see what happens with Cristiano, he’s a legend of this club. I played with him and coached him. He’s a tremendous human being. Let’s see what happens with Cristiano.”
It didn’t take long before United agreed to pay €15m with €8m in add-ons as fee to Juventus for Cristiano. Ronaldo spent six years at United between 2003-2009, winning three Premier League titles, the Champions League, the Club World Cup, the FA Cup and the League Cup.
United have now confirmed sensational homecoming for one of their greatest players on their official page on Instagram.
