It’s been a blockbuster of a transfer window so far and we’ve seen some deals that really raised eyebrows. No one could have predicted that Sergio Ramos and Lionel Messi would both depart Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively to star under the same team in PSG. If that wasn’t shocking enough, the past 72 hours might have delivered the best transfer news of the summer.
Last week, it emerged that Cristiano Ronaldo was tired of life at Juventus and was considering an exit so much he handed in a transfer request. If reports were to be true at the time, he was close to completing a move to Manchester City and already even had a two-year offer waiting for him.
As expected, Manchester United fans did not take this piece of news too well as their agitation was visible all over social media. It appeared this prompted the club to take action and it even took convincing from Ronaldo’s father-figure in Sir Alex Ferguson to knock him out of a move to cross-town rivals Manchester City.
In a swift turn of events, Ronaldo had a re-think and went on to sign for the Red Devils, 12 years after leaving them to join Real Madrid back in 2009.
Cristiano returns to Manchester United
The return of CR7 to Old Trafford has brought about a lot of buzz, for all of the expected reasons. Cristiano Ronaldo is a brand on his own and all of the numbers show just how much United could benefit from his move. A total of 12.8 million likes on Manchester United’s Instagram account announcing the move has now become the most liked sports posts on the platform.
Manchester United’s worth has also improved by a massive £200m just minutes after the announcement of Cristiano Ronaldo. The club’s website also suffered a crash due to the staggering amount of visitors in such a short time.
Cristiano Ronaldo coming back to Old Trafford has not only brought about a feel-good atmosphere on the pitch but has equally done so off it as well. As per the Daily Mail, the Portuguese will earn a massive £480,000 per week, a fee which will make him the highest-paid player in the Premier League at the age of 36.
Are Manchester United now genuine challengers?
In a summer that already saw Manchester United bring in Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho, they were already considered as heavyweights to go all the way for the title. Following the return of Ronaldo though, those odds are now even higher. Bookmakers now strongly regard the Red Devils and their cross-town rivals as favourites to go all the way, alongside the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea in what could be an interesting four-way battle.
By :
Steven D. Thompson
