Negotiations with City and calls with Bruno Fernandes: How the Ronaldo deal was done

The Portuguese wanted a new challenge and Manchester City’s reluctance to pay Juventus a fee let in his former club

File photo dated 19-03-2007 of Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo. Issue date: Friday August 27, 2021.

It was on Thursday afternoon that Jorge Mendes decided to call Manchester United to see if they may be interested in the offer of a lifetime. After three days of negotiations between the Portuguese super agent and officials from Manchester City and Juventus as he scrambled to find a new home for his most famous client before next week’s transfer deadline, Cristiano Ronaldo’s future was finally settled in a matter of hours.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s return to Old Trafford after 12 years away has taken the football world by surprise given that he had seemed destined to join United’s bitter rivals, although for Mendes the move represents a perfect conclusion to a summer of speculation.