Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo is set to rejoin Manchester United after the Premier League club agreed on a deal with Juventus on Friday.
The transfer is subject to the agreement of personal terms, visa and a medical, but the 36-year-old appears set to leave Juventus to re-join the club where he won eight major trophies between 2003-2009.
Fan favourite Ronaldo’s return generated so much excitement that United’s website crashed shortly after they announced the deal, while the club’s share price rose nearly 7% to $18.47.
Initial media reports had said Ronaldo, who told Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri he wanted to leave the Turin club on Thursday, was likely to move to United’s rivals City, but Sky Sports said the Premier League champions had decided against doing a deal.
Financial details were not disclosed, but the BBC claimed the fee was 15 million euros for Ronaldo up front, with eight million euros added on. Sky Italia said he will sign a two-year contract worth 480,000 pounds ($660,048.00) a week.
The day of drama started when Allegri, speaking ahead of Juve’s Serie A clash with Empoli this weekend, said Ronaldo had informed him on Thursday of his decision to leave the club.
“Yesterday Cristiano told me that he no longer plans to play for Juventus,” he told a news conference.
“This is why he will not be called up tomorrow. He did not train yesterday. He told his teammates this morning. I am not surprised at anything, in football, there is the market and there are the needs of individuals.
“He made his choice. Life goes on.”
Ronaldo, who won two Serie A titles and a Copa Italia trophy during his three years in Turin, posted a farewell message to Juve fans on Instagram later on Friday.
“Today I leave a wonderful club, the largest in Italy and certainly one of the largest in Europe,” he said. “I gave my heart and soul for Juventus and I will always love the city of Turin until my last days.
Ronaldo’s playing years
EARLY DAYS
* Born Feb. 5, 1985 in Funchal, Madeira.
* Plays youth team football at Nacional before joining Sporting Lisbon in 2002.
MANCHESTER UNITED (2003-09)
* United manager Alex Ferguson signs the 18-year-old for 12.24 million pounds ($16.85 million) in August 2003.
* In 2006-07, United win the title and Ronaldo is named England’s Footballer of the Year.
* Celebrates League and Champions League double in the 2007-08 season, finishing as Europe’s top goalscorer with 42 goals.
* Caps 2008 season by winning the Ballon d’Or.
* In 2008-09, helps United to the Premier League title and League Cup.
* Scores 118 goals in 291 appearances for United.
REAL MADRID (2009-18)
* Signs for 80 million pounds ($110.15 million) from United in 2009, a world record fee at the time.
* Scores 46 goals in the 2011-12 LaLiga season as Real win the title.
* Scores a record 17 goals in the Champions League in 2013-14 as Real secure a 10th European title.
* Scores the decisive spot kick in penalty shootout against Atletico to give Real their 11th Champions League title in 2016.
* Wins the Ballon d’Or in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
* Finishes as Real Madrid’s all-time top scorer with 451 goals.
JUVENTUS (2018-21)
* Signs for the Turin club in July 2018 for a reported fee of 100 million euros ($117.93 million), the highest ever for a player over 30.
* Scores 21 goals as Juventus win their eighth consecutive Scudetto, thereby becoming the first player to win league titles in England, Spain and Italy.
* Comes in third place for the 2019 Best FIFA Men’s Player Award, behind Messi and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
* Nets 31 times to finish as the second-highest goalscorer in the 2019-20 Serie A season as Juventus again win the title.
* Juventus, however, get knocked out by Lyon in the round of 16 in the Champions League.
* Wins the Serie A golden boot for 2020-21 with 29 goals but the Italian giants fail to win the league, finishing fourth.
* Finishes with 101 goals in 134 games across all competitions.
PORTUGAL (2003-)
* Makes Portugal debut in August 2003.
* Helps side to runners-up spot at Euro 2004.
* Portugal are eliminated from the 2010 World Cup by Spain in the last 16.
* Portugal go out in the group stage at the 2014 World Cup with Ronaldo clearly struggling with injury.
* In 2016, helps Portugal win their first European title as they beat France 1-0 in the final.
* Captains Portugal to victory over the Netherlands in the 2018-19 Nations League final.
* Scores against France at Euro 2020, equalling former Iran captain Ali Daei’s international record of 109 goals.
