Cristiano Ronaldo and his agent Jorge Mendes had been trying to leave Italian side Juventus for two years, and it is reported that they favored Manchester City ahead of Manchester United.
According to BBC journalist Guillem Balague, while very little headway was made last summer, the two sides were very close to a deal before this past transfer window closed.
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola reportedly believed that Ronaldo would score 40 goals on his side with all the chances they created. After seeing their advances for Tottenham striker Harry Kane be continuously rebuffed this summer, City pivoted to Ronaldo.
Juventus were eager to move off of Ronaldo and his nearly £50 million a year salary, and weren’t looking for a hefty fee for the 36-year-old. However, City couldn’t add Ronaldo without offloading one of their many high-priced attackers.
City’s embarrassment of riches in attack end up being as big a headache for them as they are for opposing defenses. Between Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus, Ferran Torres, Bernardo Silva, Riyadh Marez, Jack Grealish, and Raheem Sterling, one had to go. City looked to offload one of Silva, Jesus, or Marhez, but weren’t able to find a suitable partner. As the transfer window was nearing an end, Mendes and Ronaldo reportedly had to act fast if they wanted to leave Juventus.
They quickly turned to Manchester United, where Ronaldo initially became a superstar and offered them his services. United were keen to add Ronaldo, and more crucially, they had the space to add him. United agreed to a €15 million deal with Juventus, plus €8 million in add-ons. Ronaldo agreed to a pay-cut, although he’ll still be the highest-paid Premier League player, and it becomes another great what-if in history.