Manchester United announce agreement with Juve to sign Cristiano Ronaldo as Portugal captain nears Premier League return
Man Utd have agreed to pay Juventus €15m (£12.8m) plus a further €8m (£6.8m) in add-ons for Cristiano Ronaldo, who is set to sign a two-year contract after personal terms are finalised; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told reporters earlier on Friday: “[Ronaldo] knows we’re here.”
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.”
“In his first spell for Manchester United, he scored 118 goals in 292 games.”
“Everyone at the club looks forward to welcoming Cristiano back to Manchester.”
Ronaldo’s departure from Juventus was confirmed on Friday by boss Massimiliano 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.”
