Tuesday saw the blockbuster news of Cristiano Ronaldo officially leaving Real Madrid after nine years and joining Juventus.
The £88 million (€100m) transfer had been speculating upon for over a week, leading many to wonder why Ronaldo was going to Juve, and not returning to Manchester United. Many United supporters were disappointed that CR7 isn’t coming back to Old Trafford in 2018.
According to his agent Jorge Mendes, it’s a move that won’t ever be happening.
Mendes said in an interview with Sport:
“I’m very happy for Cristiano. Juventus will be his last club and I’m glad he has made this decision. With this team he’ll close out his marvelous career.”
Ronaldo, now 33, will be 37 when his Juve deal expires, and that’s probably the right time for him to hang up his cleats. Or do one season in Major League Soccer, then retire, like so many other European stars do these days. Why didn’t Ronaldo move to United this time around?
Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho had no real interest in bringing the superstar back, Guillem Balague claims. The gold standard of Spanish football experts expounded on this much more over at this link.
And why was Juventus the perfect fit for the richest and most well known athlete on Earth? Ryan Giggs says it’s because Ronaldo was looking to further distinguish and differentiate himself in the individual rivalry with Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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