Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho recently revealed that the Citizens were a few talks away from landing Cristiano Ronaldo at the Etihad Stadium this summer. The reigning Premier League winners could have very easily signed the five-time Ballon d’Or winner ahead of their arch-rivals Manchester United.
Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes had held talks with City over the transfer and the deal was very close. However later he completed a £20 million move to join rivals Manchester United on deadline day. His return to Old Trafford was met with shock and joy by the United fans who thought that the 36-year-old was on his way to join Manchester City. They started calling him names on social media before they realized that Ronaldo is coming to the Theatre of Dreams- the place where he became a superstar.
But before joining Manchester United, Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes was actively in talks with Manchester City. Mendes was even present at the Etihad Stadium to hold initial talks.
When quizzed how close City were to closing the Ronaldo deal, the Brazilian told ESPN, “I think there was a good, considerable chance. I think his agent was here at the club renewing the contracts of Ederson, Ruben Dias, seeing the situation of Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo.
“Obviously, if you’re there at the table, you can talk about everything and every possible player.”
The veteran midfielder shared his piece of mind as he felt that the outside noise of media and the people resulted in the deal not materializing. “I think that a lot of expectations were also raised with the possibility of him coming here.
“No doubt this ends up affecting not only the fans, but also the people inside the club. But in the end, things didn’t work out, he didn’t close the deal, and ended up going to the red side of town. Life goes on.”
Ronaldo has had a great start to his second stint at Manchester United. He has scored thrice in two appearances for the club this season. He scored a brace against Newcastle United in their 4-1 win and also found the target in a disappointing 2-1 loss against Young Boys in their Champions League opener.
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