Cristiano Ronaldo: Manchester United reach agreement with Juventus to re-sign forward for €23 million
Manchester United have reached an agreement with Juventus to re-sign Cristiano Ronaldo.
Juventus will reportedly receive €15m (£12.8m) plus €8m (£6.8m) in add-ons for Ronaldo, who is set to sign a two-year contract with United after personal terms are finalised.
Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes said earlier in the day that a deal for the 36-year-old to return to Old Trafford was very close.
Confirming the news, an official United statement read: “Manchester United is delighted to confirm that the club has reached agreement with Juventus for the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo, subject to agreement of personal terms, visa and medical.
“Everyone at the club looks forward to welcoming Cristiano back to Manchester.”
Ronaldo’s departure from Juventus was confirmed on Friday by boss Max Allegri, who revealed he was told by the player he had “no intention” of playing for the club again.
United’s rivals Manchester City were offered the chance to sign the Portugal captain and considered making a move, but the Premier League champions pulled out of negotiations.
Ronaldo spent an hour and a half at Juventus’ training ground on Friday morning to say goodbye to his team-mates before boarding a private jet from Turin to Lisbon. He was in the final year of his £500,000-per-week contract.
In a farewell post on social media, Ronaldo wrote: “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.
“The ‘tiffosi bianconeri’ always respected me and I tried to thank that respect by fighting for them in every game, every season, every competition. In the end, we can all look back and realize that we achieved great things, not all that we wanted, but still, we wrote a pretty beautiful story together.
“I will always be one of you. You are now part of my history, as I feel that I’m part of yours. Italy, Juve, Turin, tiffosi bianconeri, you’ll always be in my heart.”
Speaking on Friday, current United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted Ronaldo “knows we’re here”.
“I didn’t think Cristiano was going to leave Juventus. It has been speculation this morning and the last few days of course,” Solskjaer told reporters on Friday.
“We have always had good communication. I know Bruno [Fernandes] has been talking to him as well. He knows what we feel about him and if he was ever going to move away from Juventus he knows we are here.”
Solskjaer, who played alongside Ronaldo during the latter stages of his career at United, described his former team-mate as a “legend” of the club and the “greatest player of all time”.
“I was fortunate enough to play with him, I coached him when I got my job (as reserve team manager at United),” the Norwegian added.
“Such a tremendous human being so let’s see what happens with Cristiano. Everyone who has played with him I think has a soft spot for him.”
