Ronaldo to Man City collapsed for two reasons before Man Utd ‘appeared on the scene’ | OneFootball

Fabrizio Romano has revealed why Cristiano Ronaldo’s proposed move to Manchester City from Serie A giants Juventus fell through last summer.

Ronaldo has been a central figure in the summer transfer window for the past two years.

In 2021, it emerged in the final few days of the window that Ronaldo was looking to leave Juventus after spending three seasons in Italy.

Man City quickly emerged as a possible destination after they failed to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur.

This deal was not completed though as Ronaldo ended up returning to Man Utd for an initial fee of around £12.8m.

The 37-year-old shone last term, scoring 18 goals in the Premier League. But with him unhappy at United missing out on a Champions League place, he looked to leave the club during the summer.

Ronaldo did not get his desired move and he has been a substitute in recent weeks after missing most of pre-season at Man Utd.

He is likely to start on the bench again on Sunday when United travel to face Man City at the Etihad.

Ahead of this game, Romano has revealed that Ronaldo’s transfer to City collapsed over “issues with Jorge Mendes” and the move was “never 100% approved by the board”:

“With the Manchester Derby coming up this weekend, I thought it was worth looking back at some players who could’ve been going into Sunday’s game representing the other half of Manchester,” Romano wrote for Caught Offside.

“As you’ll remember last summer, there were talks over a surprise move for Cristiano Ronaldo to join Manchester City.

“Still, it was never 100% approved by the board or by the technical staff at City. There were also some issues at Ronaldo’s end with his agent Jorge Mendes, so the deal collapsed, even though Juventus were happy to accept the move.

“In the end, United appeared on the scene and Ronaldo was happy to join them as soon as their interest became apparent.”

Man City were patient and signed Erling Haaland instead this summer. And that has gone pretty well for them so far.

Romano has also revealed that Man Utd could have signed City duo Haaland and Manuel Akanji:

“One of the most in-form players in Europe this season, City’s summer signing Erling Haaland was close to joining Manchester United when he was at Red Bull Salzburg,” Romano continued.

“Ole Gunnar Solskjaer tried to persuade him but he wanted to proceed with Borussia Dortmund as the perfect step in his career despite also having proposals from United and Juventus.

“This summer, Manuel Akanji was also an option for Man United’s defence.

“However, it didn’t happen because he was mainly admired by Ralf Rangnick, who then left his position at Old Trafford. City then moved for him late on in the window.”