Many things were said. That it was too old, too expensive, or didn’t fit well with the style of Pep Guardiola. And despite everything, Cristiano Ronaldo He was one step away from finishing manchester city in this pass market.
It all happened in just 48 hours. The Portuguese crack was nowhere near moving to the Etihad Stadium, but from one moment to the next United said he was present and in a matter of hours they reached an agreement with Juve to finalize Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford.
The transfer of CR7 to the Citizens, without a doubt, would have been the most controversial in recent years in world football. The striker is a legend of the Red Devils and the idea of seeing him dressed in light blue was not well seen by everyone in the city of Manchester.
How close was he to City?
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as far as he could tell GoalRonaldo was offered to City long before the transfer market began. Jorge Mendes, representative of the forward, was looking for a team for all these months because Cristiano’s wish was to leave Juventus after three seasons.
Mendes had contact with the big clubs in Europe, among which the two from Mancheste stand outr. The idea was to find a suitor who could offer Ronaldo a good contract, in line with the financial expectations of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
This situation coincided with the need for the Citizens to find a strong forward in the market. After the departure of Sergio Aguero to BarcelonaThe sky-blue club set the goal of hiring a man from the area that would allow Guardiola’s men to make a leap in quality and have other options in attack.
The priority was Kane
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Despite the fact that Ronaldo was offered for several months, the truth is that City had another objective for this season: Harry Kane’s arrival. The striker of tottenham It was the great goal of the Citizens in this transfer market and the footballer was also interested in making the leap to the Premier League champion.
However, negotiations with Tottenham turned out to be more complicated than expected and they did not end with a happy ending for those from Manchester. The president of the Spurs, Daniel Levy remained firm at all times and denied the possibility of Kane leaving for the Etihad a few days after the transfer period closed.
Now with Kane off the table, Mendes returned to action and reactivated contacts with City. The representative of CR7 has a good relationship with the sky-blue team, where several of his clients play: Ruben Días, Ederson, Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva, who anxiously awaited Ronaldo’s arrival this season.
In this stage, City was much more open to negotiating the signing of Ronaldoespecially after knowing the striker’s willingness to play with Pep Guardiola’s men. In the past he had said that he would never play a direct rival to United, but that seemed to have changed radically in recent months.
In the City they were not so convinced
Although everything indicated that Ronaldo would go to the Etihad Stadium, the truth is that there were a series of aspects that did not lead City to take a more aggressive position in the attempt to sign him. One of them had to do with economics: Juventus expected to receive 28 million euros, while City were not willing to pay for the transfer.
The issue of CR7’s age played an important role. The striker will turn 37 in February and could never be considered a long-term signing, this being one of the reasons why the sky-blue club it only contemplated the option of including a player in the operation and not having to meet the economic claims of Juventus.
There were also questions about Cristiano’s ability to adapt to the Citizens’ style of play. The dressing room of the English team does not have big egos, since it has much more discreet leaders like Fernandinho or Ruben Diasso that at all times they have sought to maintain that balance that has given them such good results.
In addition, Guardiola demands an important deployment of his forwards and he has always made it clear. “Without the ball, they have to run as if it were the last minute of their lives. I don’t like it when I see a player who doesn’t run. I do not like“, Recognized Pep in a press conference prior to what was the win against Arsenal in the Premier League.
“He has to convince me why the other teammates can run and the striker can’t.. If he convinces me of that and convinces his teammates, maybe,” added the Citizens strategist, in a message that many interpreted as being addressed to Cristiano Ronaldo, because a few hours later City withdrew from the negotiations for the Portuguese.
as far as he could tell GoalOne of Ronaldo’s big concerns was whether he was really in Guardiola’s plans, having turned him down when he was offered by Mendes. That security was found on the side of United, with Sir Alex Ferguson, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra and Bruno Fernandes pushing for his return to the Theater of Dreams.
An unexpected end
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This is how City, after spending all these months looking for an elite striker, was left without the ‘9’ that Pep needs so much. And according to him he could know Goalit is very unlikely that the Citizens will make a move on this in the few hours left before the market closes.
With at least 30 goals in 11 of his last 12 seasons, there was every reason to believe Cristiano would have had a huge impact on Guardiola’s side. Not only on the pitch, but also because of his star status that would undoubtedly put the club in the spotlight of the entire world.
However, CR7 was never a priority for City and that is, ultimately, the reason why this transfer never took place, which would have been one of the most important of all time. Both will face each other in the Manchester derby on November 6, the day they will seek to prove who was right.