Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to return to Manchester United after leaving for Real Madrid in 2009, subject to personal terms being agreed, obtaining a visa, and passing a medical.
Ronaldo’s former colleague Rio Ferdinand praised the United board for acting quickly after it looked like the 36-year-likely old’s destination was Manchester City.
He said: “Wow! The pendulum has swung. What a 24 hours. Man United have done what they needed to do.
“The Man United hierarchy, when they needed to move there was no looking back. They performed perfectly at every step. There was no looking over their shoulder, no hesitancy about it.
“There was an opportunity for Ronaldo to continue his history and legacy at this football club.”
United players took to social media to congratulate Ronaldo on his return to the club where he first arrived in 2003 and spent six great seasons.
Bruno Fernandes, who discussed his return to United with his Portugal teammate, tweeted: “‘Agent Bruno’?” before adding a cartoon of Fernandes as a child watching Ronaldo with the caption “Never stop dreaming…”
Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, and Jesse Lingard, all England internationals, were among a slew of current United players who tweeted about Ronaldo.
When United first signed Ronaldo, Roy Keane, who was captain at the time, posted on Instagram: “Welcome back Cristiano”, while Edwin van der Sar posted on his account: “How are you feeling @manchesterunited fans? Always dreamt but never expected that it would happen! Welcome back in Manchester @cristiano”.
While the deal is still being finalized, Ronaldo is expected to cost United £21 million in transfer fees, with Juventus allowing a reduced sum due to his age.
According to spotrac.com, he will also go straight to the top of the Old Trafford pay league, with a weekly wage of £510,000, substantially more than current highest earning David de Gea.
Above is a gallery of Manchester United wages and how Ronaldo compares, generated using data from spotrac.com. Simply swipe to see the next image and salary.
Manchester United salaries 2021
1) Cristiano Ronaldo – £510,000 per week
2) David de Gea – £375,000 per week
3) Jadon Sancho – £350,000 a week
4) Raphael Varane – £340,000 a week
5) Paul Pogba – £290,000 a week
6) Anthony Martial – £250,000 a week
7) Edinson Cavani – £210,000 a week
8) Marcus Rashford – £200,000 a week
9) Harry Maguire – £189,904 a week
10) Bruno Fernandes – £180,000 a week
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