Cristiano Ronaldo is set to become a United player again after leaving for Real Madrid in 2009, with his transfer from Juventus subject to the agreement of personal terms, securing a visa and undergoing a medical.
The move has been welcomed by United players past and current, with Ronaldo’s former teammate Rio Ferdinand praising the United board for moving quickly after Manchester City had appeared to be the 36-year-old’s likely destination.
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 welcome Ronaldo back to the club he joined in 2003 and where he spent six successful seasons.
Bruno Fernandes, who spoke to his Portugal teammate about returning to United, tweeted: “‘Agent Bruno’?” before adding a cartoon of what appeared to be Fernandes as a youngster watching Ronaldo alongside the caption “Never stop dreaming…”.
United’s summer signing Jadon Sancho and fellow England internationals Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard were among a host of current United players to tweet about Ronaldo.
Roy Keane, who was United captain when the club first signed Ronaldo, wrote 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 yet to be finalised, Ronaldo will cost United a reported £21m in transfer fees, with Juventus allowing a cut-price move for the striker due to his age.
He will also go straight to the top of the pay league at Old Trafford, with a weekly wage of £510,000 according to spotrac.com, significantly higher than current highest earner David de Gea.
A gallery of the Manchester United earnings and Ronaldo compares is above, compiled by figures from spotrac.com. To see the next picture and salary, just swipe.
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
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E666hp%20at%206%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E850Nm%20at%202%2C300-4%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQ1%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh1.15%20million%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETwin-turbo%2C%20V8%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20automatic%20and%20manual%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E503%20bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E513Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh646%2C800%20(%24176%2C095)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Avatar%20(2009)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJames%20Cameron%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESam%20Worthington%2C%20Zoe%20Saldana%2C%20Sigourney%20Weaver%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
