Cristiano Ronaldo and Jorge Mendes would rather have secured a move to Manchester City than Manchester United, according to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague.
Ronaldo completed his return to Man United on Deadline Day. It was a dramatic, thrilling transfer which threatens to turn the Premier League season on its head.
However, things could have been a lot different, were Ronaldo to have ended up in the blue half of Manchester, rather than back at his former hunting ground Old Trafford.
According to claims made by Guillem Balague, Ronaldo would actually be playing his football at the Etihad, were the champions able to provide him with the opportunity to do so.
Dejadme que os explique alguna pista de lo que pasó entre Ronaldo, el City y el United
Cristiano y Mendes negociaban con el City porque era su destino favorito (de los dos). Pep veía a CR7 marcando 40+ goles teniendo en cuenta las ocasiones que crea su City pic.twitter.com/WTBDtyjhAE
— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) September 9, 2021
Translation: “Let me give you some clue about what happened between Ronaldo, City and United Cristiano and Mendes negotiated with City because it was their favourite destination (of the two). Pep saw CR7 scoring 40+ goals taking into account the chances that his City creates”
In a later tweet, Guillem Balague referred to Man United as Ronaldo and Mendes’ plan B, with Man City unable to sell an attacking player and thus not being able to accommodate Ronaldo.
It’s the last thing that Man United fans will be wanting to hear, and we can confidently say that many will choose not to believe it. Either way, Ronaldo IS a a Man United player now – they’ve had the last laugh.
Even if Ronaldo did see himself feasting at Man City, with the sheer number of chances they create, he will be delighted to be back at Man United and challenging for the Premier League title.
In football, you oftentimes never know the truth about any given situation. We imagine what Ronaldo’s preference really was is unlikely to ever be officially communicated.