“Everyone who knows me, knows about my never-ending love for Manchester United. The years I have spent in this club were absolutely amazing and the path we’ve made together is written in gold letters in the history of this great and amazing institution.”
– Cristiano Ronaldo via Instagram
29th August 2021 will forever be remembered as the day of mind-boggling and treacherous rumours to an evening of wide-spread relief and delight.
It all started on 27th August, with Juventus boss Allegri confirming to the press that Ronaldo had expressed his desire to leave the Serie A outfit. This was followed with a buzz among the press that the Portuguese was “looking for potential new options”. Reports of this news surfaced, just after three days, when Juventus Vice-President Pavel Nedved had told DZAN, “We mustn’t try to create sensational stories when there aren’t any. I can absolutely confirm Ronaldo will remain at Juventus this season.”
Bidding farewell to the Serie A Club, through a video post on Instagram, Ronaldo said, “Today I depart from an amazing club, the biggest in Italy and surely one of the biggest in all of Europe. I gave my heart and soul for Juventus and I’ll always love the city of Turin until my final days.”
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Among the fans there were many hopes, that if Ronaldo departed The Bianconeri, it would result in him joining the freshly stacked and star-studded French club, Paris-Saint Germain. The invincible attacking line-up of Lionel Messi, recently transferred from his boyhood club and home, Barcelona at the right-wing, Neymar Jr. at the left wing and the Ronaldo himself, standing tall and promising as the center-forward. An opponent defender’s nightmare and the goalkeeper’s dread. These expectations were quickly shattered when PSG confirmed that they were no longer interested in signing Ronaldo.
Premier League club, Manchester City, deemed as a potential bidder to welcome Ronaldo. They were also in pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur talisman, Harry Kane. But those efforts were halted too, after Harry Kane stated he would be staying at Spurs itself this summer.
On the 26th of August, it was confirmed that Ronaldo had decided to leave Juventus for good, with reports of his agent Jorge Mendes working directly with the Man City board to complete the agreement on personal terms/contract for Ronaldo, going on the rounds. The transfer seemed done and dusted. The United fans suffered heartbreak. The unimaginable thought of their icon and decorated hero stepping into the grounds of their arch rivals, The Cityzens, was hard to digest. The Netizens bored mixed reactions, many pointing out Ronaldo’s betrayal to the very club that forged him into what he is today.
Until, the evening drew in… and Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro showed his true colours. The colour rouge. He was coming home. The official page of Manchester Utd. had announced the return of their prince to Old Trafford.
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Fans on social media let out a breather and revelled in ecstatic glee. Reminiscing the days of 2003-09, when Ronaldo’s dribbles, speed, precision marvelled the spectators, driving them to crave for more.
What made this dedicated and diligent health enthusiast change his mind?
Among many other influential figures such as the current United technical director Darren Fletcher, the Four Horsemen of Man United took charge.
Sir Alex Ferguson. Bruno Fernandes. Rio Ferdinand. Patrice Evra.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson has an irreplaceable bond, especially since, Sir Alex had acquired Ronaldo from Sporting C.P, after the Portuguese club had defeated United 3-1. The former manager of Manchester United, who had a gleaming managerial phase at Old Trafford from 1986 to 2013, has shown to be an active influence on the Premier League club even after his retirement. Reports had stated that he had been trying to convince Manchester United to get Ronaldo back for years.
Now was the time to seize the occasion and lead him back home. The history and legacy Ronaldo had designed for himself could not be tarnished by him joining The Sky Blues. According to the Manchester Evening News, Sir Alex Ferguson picked up the phone and reminded Cristiano Ronaldo of his true home and where he belonged. A phone call from his mentor and guide himself? How could Ronaldo refuse that? As quick a lightning, Man Utd. were in the race to receive him.
“Sir Alex Ferguson is my second father. He has helped me improve enormously.”
– Cristiano Ronaldo, Sky Sports, 2009
The former players of Manchester United also believed that only Sir Alex Ferguson was capable of persuading Ronaldo to make the move.
“Cristiano Ronaldo and Sir Alex have got a bond that very few players get to have in their career with a manager. There was no way Ronaldo would be coming to Man Utd. without speaking to Sir Alex Ferguson. Simple as that”
– Rio Ferdinand, The Sun, 2021
Ronaldo’s former Man Utd. teammates also played an immense role in persuading the legend to make the biblical comeback. England’s former centre-back, Rio Ferdinand told BT Sport, “I was talking to him, texting was a big part of it. Obviously, our relationship and friendship go way back many years to when we played together. We have stayed in contact since then.” He further went on to say, “You could never see him wearing a Sky Blue kit and walking out in Manchester not in a red shirt. It just couldn’t happen.” And it didn’t, as more players joined in the brigade to lead Ronaldo back to Old Trafford.
France’s Supatrice, Patrice Evra, uploaded a post on Instagram of a Whatsapp chat between him and ‘Cr7’. He also posted a video of himself telling his followers, “I think many people are taking credit about Cristiano Ronaldo coming back home. But the person whom we should thank the most is Cristiano Ronaldo himself.” He pointed out that Ronaldo had referred to Man Utd. as “our club”. He stated that he wanted to share the Whatsapp chats with the fans for them to understand how much the best player in the world loved the club.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Another ranger in bringing Ronaldo back was the football superstar’s compatriot himself, Bruno Fernandes, who currently plays in the club as an attacking midfielder. Man United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, revealed that Bruno had also been doing his part in bringing Ronaldo back.
After Ronaldo’s new deal had been made official, Bruno Fernandes himself took to Twitter to confirm his part in Ronaldo’s comeback to United. Presently, Fernandes plays alongside Ronaldo in the Portuguese national football team.
‘Agent Bruno’? 💼 😂
Welcome back home @Cristiano 🙌🐐 https://t.co/YoFBamTIAQ— Bruno Fernandes (@B_Fernandes8) August 27, 2021
Droning the red shaded, white-striped jersey, here are Ronaldo’s first words since he re-joined his second club in his senior career.
With the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United, it has been confirmed that he has reclaimed and will be sporting the iconic number ‘7’, given up by Uruguayan striker, Edinson Cavani, who will now wear the number ‘21’. Thus, the moniker ‘CR7’ will live on till the Madeira-born star’s retirement.
Manchester United, undoubtedly, have had one of the best transfer windows this season. With Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho and Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid teammate and Frenchman, Raphael Varane in their hands, along with the Portuguese man himself, they are one of the favourites to win the Premier League trophy and the Europa League too.
So, how will the arrival of Ronaldo affect the current squad?
Solskjaer has made it clear Ronaldo will certainly be an active member of the squad and resume his duty of winning trophies for the club after a barren streak of seven years of Man United losing the PL Trophy, having last won it in 2012-13.
“Let’s get Cristiano signed first and of course he’s not signed to sit on the bench. Of course, he’s not. He’s going to make us a better team of course.”
– Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Man Utd vs Wolves press conference, 29th August 2021
With Ronaldo’s presence in the squad and his goal-scoring machine abilities, Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial will have to take a backseat. Wingers, Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba, will see a rise in their assist numbers, as Ronaldo’s power-packed goals will brace them victories.
Even though he might not seem to be in his prime now, one can still be assured that this dedicated and focused human being will be an invaluable asset to United. He is a gem, lost and recovered, ready to shine his brightest, until he hangs up his boots, hopefully, at Old Trafford itself.
