Why Ronaldo wanted to join Man City instead of Man Utd

Martin Macdonald

• 17 Mar 2022 11:34 GMT
• 3 min read

In the summer of 2021, shockwaves were sent through football when Cristiano Ronaldo completed a sensational return to Manchester United.

After informing Juventus of his desire to leave, the Italian giants agreed to let him go for a nominal fee in order to get his exorbitant salary off the wage bill.

Surprisingly, Manchester City actually emerged as the favourites to sign Ronaldo, but at the eleventh hour Man Utd swooped in and confirmed his return.

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Man Utd wanted Ronaldo back not only for his talents on the pitch, but to avoid the public relations embarrassment of having one of the club's greatest ever players feature for their city rivals.

Though the Portuguese superstar has had a decent season, scoring 18 goals in 29 starts in all competitions, Man Utd as a whole have been underwhelming under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his replacement, Ralf Rangnick.

This week, the Red Devils were eliminated from the Champions League after a 1-0 loss at home to Atletico Madrid, and that means they are not in contention for any piece of silverware this season.

The club are suffering from their worst trophy drought for 40 years.

Ronaldo's future at Man Utd was called into question recently when he was left out of the squad for the Manchester derby. Rangnick reported that the player was suffering from a hip issue, but Ronaldo was furious at being left out of the game and flew home to Portugal.

The game after, he returned to score a hat-trick at Tottenham, but his future is far from certain.

Ronaldo wanted City move

Things could have been very different for the 37-year-old this season, as according to journalist Guillem Balage, Ronaldo wanted the City move ahead of a return to Man Utd.

The forward believed that Man Utd, as a club, lacked the structure that City enjoy.

Ronaldo was of the opinion that City would present a more suitable option for him personally, as all that would be required of him would be to act as a penalty box striker, flourishing in the service that would be provided from City's talented roster of attacking midfielders and wingers.

"On Ronaldo and UnitedHis signing was a typical decision of a club lacking direction and criteria," Balage wrote on Twitter.

"He was not needed. Once he landed he wanted the team to play for him and he is in no position to ask for that.

"He would have fitted better at City with a smaller role of playing inside the box,and plenty of service.

"That is why City was his preferred choice (and the one of his agent)."