Cristiano Ronaldo’s Return to Manchester United: How an Old Friend Saved the Deal

Cristiano Ronaldo apparently asked an old friend for a favor before returning to Manchester United.

WHAT HAPPENED? A close confidant of Manchester United club legend Rio Ferdinand, Stephen Howson, has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo called him late shortly before his return to the Red Devils to steer negotiations in the right direction.

WHAT IS THE BACKGROUND? The Portuguese was also linked to Chelsea and Manchester City in the summer of 2021. For a long time it looked like Ronaldo would join United’s city rivals.

That’s why the then coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer didn’t expect CR7 to make a comeback at Old Trafford, Howson told Stretford Paddock, the host of a Man United fan channel.

WHAT WAS SAID? “I don’t even know if Solskjaer was consulted at any point before the deal was almost done,” he said, elaborating on the transfer process: “Thursday night at 9 o’clock he leaves [Ronaldo; Anm. d. Red.] to Manchester City. At some point in the night he calls Rio [Ferdinand] and says: ‘United don’t want me, can you call someone?'”

The confusion is also said to have been due to Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes. He did “a bit of dirty work,” said Howson: “He didn’t tell United about the transfer to City, he just brought him to City, but he told Ronaldo that United didn’t want him.”

Ferdinand then called the then CEO Ed Woodward and informed him of Ronaldo’s plans. “He said, ‘You know, Ronaldo is on the plane getting checked out for Manchester City,'” Howson said.

Woodward was blown away and then called several officials and club icons, including Sir Alex Ferguson, to make the deal work in favor of Manchester United. “Ole was probably the ninth person on that list,” Howson said.

THE VIDEO:

THE TRANSFER STORY: Ronaldo ultimately only stayed until winter 2022 after he sharply criticized the club, the coach and his teammates in an interview with Piers Morgan and his contract was terminated.

Shortly afterwards, the now 38-year-old signed a lucrative contract with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia. This runs until 2025.

THE PICTURES FOR THE NEWS:

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2024-01-06 09:59:41
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