How is ronaldo doing at real
If Ronaldo decides to return to his native country to hang up his boots, the Lisbon giants seem to be the only option he would contemplate. Back in , Inter Miami owner David Beckham expressed his wish to bring in stars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to boost the club's brand name.
It might seem virtually impossible, but nothing should be ruled out in football. Manchester United. But while his time at Juventus will not be deemed a success by his standards, he still managed an impressive goals in games in all competitions. By contrast a younger Ronaldo scored goals in appearances in six seasons at United. His 29 Serie A goals last season were enough for an Italian golden boot to add to his Premier League and La Liga ones , , In fact since Ronaldo joined Juventus in , only Robert Lewandowski 99 and Lionel Messi 91 have scored more goals in Europe's top five leagues than his His Champions League scoring did tail off at Juventus though.
He had hit double figures in each of his last seven seasons at Real, but only managed six, four and four in three years at Juve. He has also won the Ballon d'Or - for the best player in the world - four more times since he first won it at United. In the 11 years since leaving United, he has 'only' managed four league titles two in Spain and two in Italy , and if his failure to win a Champions League with Juventus means his time there will be seen as a let-down, there has been no notable dip in the amount of trophies he has won at club level during his career.
In six years at Manchester United he averaged more than a trophy a season - seven major ones in six years including three Premier League titles in a row and three minor ones. In nine years at Real Madrid, it was eight major competitions and eight minor ones. And he won three major trophies and two smaller ones in three years at Juventus - although their nine-year reign as champions was ended last season by Inter Milan. Ronaldo's game has always been more associated with goals than assists - although he did actually set up a lot of goals in La Liga 87 assists in nine seasons.
But in recent years, as he has become more of a number nine, those assists have dried up slightly. His past five seasons - two at Real and three at Juventus - have seen an average of 5. That is comparable to his six seasons at United in the Premier League 5. Ronaldo's style has clearly changed over the years. At Manchester United he started off as a skinny winger with arguably more style than substance. He got stronger and developed into more of a goal threat before becoming a generation-defining goalscorer at Real Madrid.
He was still involved in plenty of dribbling and passing in his first few years at Real but eventually became more of a centre forward who was not involved in build-up play so much.
On Thursday night, Mendes received a proposal from United. On Friday morning, conversations with Juventus began and United assured the Italian club they were prepared to pay a fee, something City had so far resisted. When United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's weekly news conference began at p.
UK time on Friday, he was already confident Ronaldo was coming back. Each question about Ronaldo was batted away by Solskjaer until, right at the end, he said pointedly "he knows what we feel about him and if he is going to move, he knows we are here. The cat was out of the bag. City sources insist they pulled out well before Guardiola began his own news conference at p.
UK time, but official word didn't filter through until later in the afternoon. City remain unhappy with Mendes' role in the saga with some believing he used interest from the Etihad to force United into acting. Sources close to Ronaldo admit he considered a move to City, but once United revealed their hand, his mind was made up and that he had even taken a small pay cut to make it happen. Sources have also told ESPN that the pitch made to Ronaldo, done in part by former teammate and now technical director Darren Fletcher, was about "completing unfinished business at Old Trafford and writing a new chapter rather than trying to relive the past.
UK on Friday, the official announcement came through to cap off a remarkable 24 hours. Bruno later joked he was an "agent" once the news was public. Even when, to outsiders at least, City seemed destined to sign Ronaldo, those within Old Trafford knew that the player's deep-rooted affection for United would give them a chance of persuading him to choose red rather than blue.
Ronaldo has maintained contact with many from his time at United, principally Ferdinand and Evra, but he also has retained relationships with members of staff behind the scenes. Since assuming his role as executive vice-chairman in , following the retirement of chief executive David Gill, Woodward has made it his business to get close to the game's so-called "super-agents. Gill, perhaps influenced by Ferguson's deep-rooted disdain for player representatives, always kept them at arm's length, treating many with suspicion and trusting only those he had grown to know and respect during a decade in the job.
Woodward had no such inhibitions, and he worked hard to cultivate relationships with the likes of Mino Raiola -- adviser of Paul Pogba , Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Erling Haaland , among others -- and Mendes, Ronaldo's long-standing representative.
On one occasion, while enjoying drinks with journalists before United's Champions League tie against Olympiakos in Athens in February , Woodward's phone rang, with the screen clearly showing the caller's name.
Rather than quickly diverting the call or moving away to take it privately, Woodward instead made sure everyone knew who was calling him -- "Ha! It's Jorge Mendes," he said. But while he was mocked at times for his determination to get close to powerful agents, Woodward continued to see it as a crucial element of his job and the hard yards have paid off with the signing of Ronaldo -- and it might yet prove key to landing Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund next summer.
Sources have told ESPN that Woodward and Mendes have been in contact about Ronaldo throughout the summer, and that the United director was kept informed by Mendes about Ronaldo's intentions every step of the way. Initial discussions in June led to United being told of the "eye-watering" numbers it would cost to do a deal, but those talks never progressed because of Ronaldo telling Mendes to inform clubs that he would be staying at Juventus.
When Ronaldo changed his mind earlier this month, Mendes made Woodward aware, but United had done their planned business by signing Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund and agreeing a deal for Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane. It was only when City emerged as a potential destination for Ronaldo that Woodward was able to find the keys to the Glazer vault. Sources have told ESPN that Guardiola and some members of the City hierarchy have been unimpressed with the way Mendes conducted negotiations, but if the ultimate objective of drawing City in was to lure United back to the table, it worked.
Once it became clear that Ronaldo would soon be heading to City rather than United unless they acted quickly, the Glazers gave Woodward the green light to do a deal. When he replaced Gill in June , Woodward had a list of dream targets. Pogba returned in and Ronaldo, 12 years after leaving for Real Madrid, is also back in a red shirt. Juventus told Mendes way back in the spring, even before they parted ways with Andrea Pirlo, that they were facing heavy losses and while they'd be delighted if Ronaldo stayed for his final season, they also would not stand in his way if he said he wanted to leave.
There was zero interest in Ronaldo around Europe, despite Mendes' best efforts. When Ronaldo began to be heavily linked with Real Madrid in mid-August, Juve reached out to him and Mendes, though the forward gave no indication he wanted to leave. Mendes said there was interest from other clubs, but it would depend on movement elsewhere -- particularly what happened with Mbappe.
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