August 27 – It’s suddenly all change. After reportedly being on his way to Manchester City after they failed to sign England captain Harry Kane, Cristiano Ronaldo is apparently on course for a sensational return to Manchester United from Juventus.
Reports say the Portuguese captain is in ‘advanced talks’ to go back to Old Trafford where he spent six years before being sold to Real Madrid.
The 36-year-old Portuguese superstar has less than 12 months left on his contract with Juve worth an estimated €31 million a season after tax, having moved to Serie A from Real Madrid in 2018.
After weeks of speculation, media reports suggest Juventus will now accept a fee of between €25 million and €30 million for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. But not, seemingly, from City.
With Kane announcing his staying at Spurs, it was widely assumed City had switched their focus to Ronaldo, one of the greatest players of all time, in their quest to land a first ever Champions League trophy.
Instead he is believed to be going back to the club where he made his name having apparently made himself unavailable for Juve’s match against Empoli on Saturday and said his goodbyes to his team-mates.
Sky reports that Ronaldo was offered to City but that there “wasn’t a great deal of enthusiasm” within the Premier League champions to bring him in.
His agent, Jorge Mendes, is now understood to have then approached City’s local rivals where Ronaldo played between 2003 and 2009.
Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri confirmed Ronaldo’s desire to leave the club earlier this week.
“Yesterday, Cristiano told me that he no longer has any intention to play for Juventus,” he said.
“I’m absolutely not disappointed, because Cristiano took his own decision. He was here for three years, he gave his contribution, he put himself at Juventus’ disposal, and now he’s leaving and life goes on.”
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