Revealed: How close Ronaldo came to joining Man City
FT Desk
- Updated: 27 Sept 2022 10:51 BST
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo was not as close to joining Manchester City last summer as was initially reported, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Ronaldo returned to Man United in the summer of 2021 after 12 years away, having enjoyed a brilliant six years at the club between 2003 and 2009 before moving to Real Madrid.
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The attacker completed a €15 million move from Juventus, with a potential €8m in add-ons.
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However, in the days prior to his return to Man Utd, it had been widely reported that Ronaldo was on the brink to signing for Man City.
The veteran was said to have been in advanced negotiations with City until Man Utd hijacked the deal in the closing days of the transfer window.
But Romano claims that Ronaldo’s move to City was not as advanced as was initially believed.
What did Romano say about Ronaldo?
“As you’ll remember last summer, there were talks over a surprise move for Cristiano Ronaldo to join Manchester City,” Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column.
“Still, it was never 100% approved by the board or by the technical staff at City. There were also some issues at Ronaldo’s end with his agent Jorge Mendes, so the deal collapsed, even though Juventus were happy to accept the move.
“In the end, United appeared on the scene and Ronaldo was happy to join them as soon as their interest became apparent.”
Ronaldo’s return to Man Utd has not gone as planned. Despite an excellent first season back individually with 24 goals in all competitions, Man Utd performed badly as a team.
They failed to win a trophy or qualify for the Champions League.
This forced Ronaldo to issue a transfer request this past summer but despite his agent Jorge Mendes’ efforts, the 37-year-old was unable to find a new club.
He has been dropped from the first team this season and has scored just one goal in all competitions, a penalty in the Europa League.
