Cristiano Ronaldo would leave Turin and it was a surety and it was clear that his destination would be Manchester, not his home Manchester United, but rivals Manchester City, which did not satisfy the Manchester United fans at all, who started to criticize the greatest footballer in the world right now in a harsh fashion. Well, they forgot, this summer transfer window has been wild, has been total chaos and full of dramatic twists and turns.
Joining City was just a matter of time for Cristiano Ronaldo until the whole saga took a massive U-turn when Manchester United joined the race to sign their boy, who gave them so much. For them it would be unthinkable to witness their boy donning the Blue Shirt and play against them and thus, in a very short time, United confirmed the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo – the boy returns home, where it all began more than a decade ago.
Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to sign a two-year deal subject to being granted a visa and passing a medical, with United having agreed to pay an initial €2om to the Italian club plus up to €3m in bonuses.
According to Guardian, “Manchester City had seemed the most likely destination for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner until Friday morning. But after a whirlwind 48 hours that saw Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, hold talks with Juventus officials in Turin on Wednesday over a potential move to the Etihad Stadium, City confirmed on Friday lunchtime that they were no longer interested.”
“It then emerged that Mendes had also held talks with United before a statement from them hours later then confirmed they had reached agreement with Juventus for a deal to re-sign the player who joined from Sporting Lisbon as a teenager and spent six seasons at Old Trafford before moving to Madrid for a world-record £80m in 2009.”
“Ronaldo has less than 12 months left on his contract with Juventus, worth an estimated €31m a season after tax. It is understood City were reluctant to pay a fee for a player who will turn 37 in February, having also never agreed personal terms over a proposed two-year contract.”
“I didn’t think Ronaldo was going to turn out leaving Juventus and if it’s been speculation this morning, speculation the last few days, of course,” said Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
“We’ve always had good communication, I know Bruno [Fernandes] has been talking to him as well and he knows what we feel about him and if he was ever going to move away from Juventus, he knows that we are here.”
“We focus on the ones we have here, I don’t want to speculate too much on what is happening there in the press. I’ve said many times with speculations that when you are at Man United when you’re Messi when you’re Ronaldo when you’re Pogba, you have to read a lot about yourself, so let’s see what happens with Ronaldo as he’s such a legend of this club.”
And with Cristiano Ronaldo joining Manchester United and Harry Kane expressed full commitments with Tottenham Hotspur, Pep Guardiola missed the opportunity to sign the two most lethal goal-scorers who would have solved the problem of City’s lack of a competent striker.
Massimiliano Allegri, also revealed Ronaldo informed him of his intention to move on before their trip to face Empoli in Serie A today.
“Yesterday [Thursday], Cristiano told me that he no longer has any intention to play for Juventus. For this reason, he will not be called up for tomorrow’s game,” said Allegri.
“Cristiano is to be thanked for what he has done, also as an example amongst the youngsters. But as I said, we must go on. Things change, it’s a law of life. Juventus remains, which is the most important thing. Cristiano gave his contribution, he made himself available, now he leaves and life goes on.”
It was back in 2003-4 when Sir Alex Ferguson signed a young boy from Sporting Lisbon. His name was Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos, who became the first Portuguese player to play for the Red Devils. While at Lisbon he donned the number 28 shirt, but at United, he was handed over the number 7 shirt to carry the legacy of George Best, Eric Cantona and David Beckham.
A key element in his development during his time in England proved to be his manager Alex Ferguson, of whom he later said, “He's been my father in sport, one of the most important and influential factors in my career.”
In his first season, Cristiano Ronaldo shone which made BBC Pundit Alan Hansen say, “He has got the tricks and party pieces, we know that, but they're not much good unless there is something at the end of it all. We still have to remember, of course, that the lad is only 19 years of age. Considering that, you have to say he has got massive talent. His feet are mesmerizing at times, and if he can couple that with some consistently good crossing, the future looks frightening.”
The 2007-08 season was one of the most memorable years for Cristiano Ronaldo in Old Trafford.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal in the Manchester derby on May 5, 2007 - his 50th goal for the club, as Manchester United claimed their first Premier League title in four years.
As a result of his performances, he amassed a host of personal awards for the season. He won the Professional Footballers' Association's Player's Player, Fans' Player, and Young Player of the Year awards as well as the Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year award, becoming the first player to win all four main PFA and FWA honours.
His club wages were concurrently upgraded to £120,000 a week (£31 million total) as part of a five-year contract extension with United.
Ronaldo was named runner-up to Kaká for the 2007 Ballon d'Or, and came third, behind Kaká and Lionel Messi, in the running for the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year award.
Ronaldo scored his first and only hat-trick for Manchester United in a 6–0 win against Newcastle United in January 2008, bringing United up to the top of the Premier League table. A month later, he captained United for the first time in a home win over Bolton and scored both goals of the match.
His second goal was his 33rd of the campaign, which bettered George Best's total of 32 goals in the 1967–68 season, thus setting the club's new single-season record by a midfielder.
His 31 league goals earned him the Premier League Golden Boot, as well as the European Golden Shoe, which made him the first winger to win the latter award.
He additionally received the PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards for the second consecutive season.
In the knockout stage of the Champions League, Ronaldo scored the decisive goal against Lyon, which helped United advance to the quarter-finals 2–1 on aggregate, and, while playing as a striker, scored with a header in the 3–0 aggregate victory over Roma.
Manchester United advanced to the final against Chelsea in Moscow, where, despite his opening goal being negated by an equalizer and his penalty kick being saved in the shoot-out, Manchester United emerged victorious.
As the Champions League top scorer, Ronaldo was named the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.
Ronaldo scored a total of 42 goals in all competitions during the 2007–08 season, his most prolific campaign during his time in England.
He missed three matches after head-butting a Portsmouth player at the start of the season, an experience he said taught him not to let opponents provoke him.
At the close of 2008, Cristiano Ronaldo helped United win the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, assisting the final-winning goal against Liga de Quito and winning the Silver Ball in the process.
With his 2008 Ballon d'Or and 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year, Ronaldo became United's first Ballon d'Or winner since George Best in 1968, and the first Premier League player to be named the FIFA World Player of the Year.
His match-winning goal in the second leg against Porto, a 40-yard strike, earned him the inaugural FIFA Puskás Award, presented by FIFA in recognition of the best goal of the year; he later called it the best goal he had ever scored.
Manchester United advanced to the final in Rome, where he made little impact in United's 2–0 defeat to Barcelona.
Ronaldo ended his time in England with nine trophies, as United claimed their third successive Premier League title and a Football League Cup.
He finished the campaign with 26 goals in all competitions, 16 goals fewer than the previous season, in four more appearances.
His final goal for Manchester United came on May 10 2009 with a free kick in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 games in his first spell at Old Trafford before leaving for Real Madrid in 2009.
Now, after twelve years, Old Trafford is all set to welcome their hero once again and we might see the great man end his illustrious career at the club that made him the greatest of his generation.
Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 27/08/2021 Cristiano Ronaldo returns home
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Faisal Caesar
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