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Manchester, UNITED KINGDOM – Manchester United’s Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after scoring a rebounded penalty against Wigan Athletic during their English Premiership football match at Old Trafford in Manchester, December 26, 2006. (Photo : PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Cristiano Ronaldo is coming home. The Portuguese superstar went from pariah to club legend in the eyes of Manchester United fans in just 24 hours as Ronaldo spurned Manchester City’s advances at the last minute to make a sensational return to the club he once played for.
The transfer window that keeps on giving delivered its most stunning chapter yet on Friday. The day started with Ronaldo informing Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri that he wanted to leave the Italian giants, providing substance to reports hours before that he was close to signing a deal with United’s crosstown rivals City.
United prevails over City in tug-of-war battle for Ronaldo
Pep Guardiola and Manchester City ratcheted up their pursuit of Ronaldo after the club failed to acquire the services of England captain Harry Kane from Tottenham. With Sergio Aguero now plying his trade in Barcelona, City needed another player to shore up their attack, and Ronaldo provided just that, scoring 45 goals in 58 appearances for club and country last season.
The problem for Manchester City was that United didn’t like that potential signing one bit. Ronaldo was once an Old Trafford hero who led the Red Devils to three Premier League titles, the FA Cup, two League Cups, two Community Shields, and the Club World Cup in his first spell with the club.
Once United stars past and present and former boss Sir Alex Ferguson got wind of the impending City transfer, they worked the phone lines to try to convince Ronaldo to return to the red half of Manchester instead. Rio Ferdinand confirmed that he talked to Ronaldo, asking his former United teammate not to switch to the Etihad Stadium.
Ronaldo’s move to United started to gain momentum during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s press conference on Friday afternoon. When asked about Ronaldo’s future, the Manchester United manager made quite an explosive statement, saying that Ronaldo knows how the club feels about him and that “if he was ever going to move he knows we are here.”
Hours after that press conference concluded, news broke that Manchester City had pulled out of the race to sign Ronaldo from Juventus, with United now the front-runners to land the star player.
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United send fans into a frenzy with Ronaldo announcement
The impossible happened late Friday afternoon with the Red Devils announcing the deal on their social media accounts, posting a collage of Ronaldo from his previous playing days at United along with three words: “Welcome home, @Cristiano.
Welcome 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲, @Cristiano 🔴#MUFC | #Ronaldo
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 27, 2021
The financial details of the blockbuster deal were not disclosed, but according to Sky Sport Italia, United paid Juventus $33 million to acquire the services of Ronaldo, who then agreed with the Red Devils on a two-year contract worth $29.5 million per season.
And just like that, the legend was back. Ronaldo, who scored 118 goals in 292 games played during his first stint with the Red Devils, has returned at the grand old age of 36, and United and the Premier League are much better because of it.
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