MMA great Khabib Nurmagomedov has shared that he knew that Cristiano Ronaldo was to return to Manchester United, having been told as such by the Old Trafford legend a month ago.
According to RT, the UFC legend made the admission to reporters at the New Knowledge Marathon in Moscow, insisting that he ‘expected’ the deal to take Ronaldo back to United to ‘take place’.
Ronaldo has returned to the club where he rose to stardom in a six-year spell, which didn’t always look like the case from the outside due to rivals Man City being frontrunners at one point, per the Telegraph.
Khabib, who called time on a remarkable undefeated MMA career (29-0) at the end of 2020, added that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are ‘more suitable’ for the Portuguese great than Juventus.
With RT reiterating the close bond between Khabib and Ronaldo, highlighted by the fact that they speak ‘almost every day’, it’s not too surprising that the Dagestani icon knew about his friend’s plans early.
See More: Ronaldo released from Portugal duty early in good news for Manchester United
Ronaldo and the UFC icon have linked up before:
The Weekly Grind: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Cristiano Ronaldo exchange gifts https://t.co/VpJRk7EqWk pic.twitter.com/09wpVePU4o
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) February 11, 2018
Khabib is perhaps the only person in the world who did not find the return of Ronaldo a ‘surprise’:
“A month ago, he told me that he was moving to Manchester United, I expected this deal to take place. I think that Manchester United is more suitable for him than Juventus.”
“For me, the transition was not a surprise.”
With the return of Ronaldo, United will now be expected to end a run of relative mediocrity, which has seen them fail to meet expectations since Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012/13 season.
Solskjaer has reached just one final during his two-and-a-half-years in charge of United, which came at the end of last season as they lost out to Villarreal in the Europa League on penalties.
Fans will be hoping that Ronaldo brings the winning mentality to help propel an extremely talented (and expensive) squad over the repeating hurdles that they’ve faced in recent seasons.