It’s safe to say this has been the maddest transfer window ever. The result? A long-awaited return to Manchester United for one of the greatest players of all time Cristiano Ronaldo.
When it became clear than Ronaldo wanted to leave Juventus, it was a question of who could afford him, and when rumours circulated that Manchester City were interested, United fans were sent into meltdown.
It seemed inevitable, and fans of the Citizens were ready and waiting to replicate the infamous ‘Welcome to Manchester’ billboard seen when Carlos Tevez made the fateful move back in 2009.
However, it appeared that pleas from former teammates, and the manager that he idolises in Sir Alex were enough to convince him to not make the same mistake.
It emerged on Friday that the Red Devils were not out of the race, and as such they made an incredible last minuite attempt to bring Ronaldo back to the Theatre of Dreams for one last dance.
CR7 has flirted with a move back to England many times before, a move many United fans have longed for but believed it too good to be true. Well now it is true, now we will see the Portuguese star put on the famous red shirt once again.
Ronaldo left United back in 2009, he was arguably the world’s best player then and at 36 he is still one of the best now.
He will have a different role to play, having become a goalscoring machine in his time at Real Madrid and Juventus, known for honing his skills in the box and breaking every record there is.
In March he became the greatest ever goal scorer with 770 goals surpassing Pele’s record (767) by 3.
United are getting a player who will likely challenge for the golden boot this season and could well propel them to the title, although they remain joint-third favourites with Liverpool according to Betfred UK.
It’s a move that will now put even more pressure on the manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his coaching staff to deliver.
The man himself is still yet to speak, United travel to Wolves on Sunday but with the international break, it might be a while before we see him make his second debut at the club.
The next match at Old Trafford sees United face Newcastle on 11 September. The last time Ronaldo featured in this fixture he scored a hat-trick in a 6-0 victory.
To see Ronaldo back in the Premier League will be special, you can only imagine what United fans must feel, let alone the fans of clubs lower down the league.
For the fans of Brentford, Norwich, or Burnley. The once in a lifetime opportunity to see one of the greatest ever play against your team at your home ground.
Many didn’t think it would happen again, but for him to come back to the best league in the world shows that he has unfinished business, and even at his age does not shy away from a challenge.
United now look dangerous, a forward line boasting Ronaldo, new signing Jadon Sancho, Bruno Fernandes and many more. They’ve even tightened up the defence with the signing of four-time champions league winner Raphael Varane.
This is the best United side post Sir Alex Ferguson and that means that the expectation will be just as high as it was during his reign. Dreams have come true today, romance still exists in Football, and this really is a fairytale ending.
Pic courtesy of Sdo216 with thanks.
