Manchester United is delighted to confirm that the club has reached agreement with Juventus for the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo, subject to agreement of personal terms, visa and medical.
Cristiano, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has so far won over 30 major trophies during his career, including five UEFA Champions League titles, four FIFA Club World Cups, seven league titles in England, Spain and Italy, and the European Championship for his native Portugal.
In his first spell for Manchester United, he scored 118 goals in 292 games.
Per ESPN’s Mark Ogden, Ronaldo will remain in his home country of Portugal through the international break with an eye toward making his home debut in his second stint at Manchester United on Sept. 11 against Newcastle United.
Gianluca Di Marzio of Sky Italia reported Thursday that Ronaldo was hopeful Juventus would move him prior to Tuesday’s transfer deadline.
Di Marzio added that while Manchester City wanted to sign Ronaldo on a free transfer, Juventus’ asking price was around $29 million. He also reported that Manchester City was the only club in a position to land Ronaldo.
Despite that, journalist Fabrizio Romano reported Friday that Manchester City had pulled out of negotiations for Ronaldo without agreeing to terms with Ronaldo or Juventus.
Romano also reported that Manchester United were set to prepare an offer after Man City dropped out and were “confident” they could land the legendary forward.
The 36-year-old had just started his fourth season at Juventus after previously playing six years for Manchester United and nine years for Real Madrid.
Rumors of a Ronaldo transfer heated up Sunday when he was on the bench for Juve’s Serie A opener against Udinese. Ronaldo entered the game in the 60th minute and thought he had scored the winning goal, but it was disallowed after a VAR review, resulting in a 2-2 draw.
Per Sky Sports, reports out of Italy suggested that Ronaldo asked to be on the bench in order to “preserve his fitness” ahead of a potential transfer.
Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri gave a different account, saying: “Ronaldo is feeling well. I had talked to him before the game, telling him he would start on the bench. He made himself available. He did well when he entered the pitch.”
Later, Juventus vice president Pavel Nedved called the decision for Ronaldo to be a substitute a “shared” one between the forward and Allegri. Nedved also said he could “absolutely confirm” Ronaldo would remain with Juve throughout the 2021-22 season.
The Portugal international is widely considered one of the greatest players of all time thanks to his 674 career goals in 897 matches across all competitions.
Ronaldo has scored 101 times in 134 matches with Juventus after scoring 118 times in 292 matches with Manchester United and a remarkable 450 times in 438 matches with Real Madrid.
His greatest success came at Real Madrid, with whom he won La Liga twice, two Copas del Rey and the UEFA Champions League on four occasions. He won three Premier League titles, one UEFA Champions League, one FA Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup at Manchester United, and he’s won two Serie A titles and the Coppa Italia with Juventus.
Additionally, Ronaldo helped lead Portugal to its greatest accomplishment: the UEFA European Championship in 2016.
It has been over a decade since Ronaldo last played in the EPL, but he is now poised to make a huge splash in arguably the most significant league in the world.
While Ronaldo was productive during his first stint with Manchester United, he truly broke out and became an all-time great while with Real Madrid.
If Ronaldo can bring that level of production with him back to Manchester United, the Red Devils have a strong chance to win their first EPL title since 2013 after finishing as the runner-up last season.
