Stocks of the football club Manchester United rebounded as investors and fans rejoiced over the return of their former star play, Cristiano Ronaldo, who used to play for the club more than a decade ago. After Manchester confirmed the deal of Ronaldo’s transfer with Juventus, its stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange appreciated by 5.84 percent to close the trading season at $18.29 per share.
Manchester United was the first club Ronaldo played for outside of his native Portugal, which he joined as a teenager. While he was still in the club, he scored 118 goals in 292 games over six years and helped Manchester United win the three Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2008. In 2009, he transferred to Spanish club Real Madrid in a $110 million deal, a record-breaking figure at the time, and then went on to Juventus in 2018. Twelve years after, Cristiano Ronaldo is coming back home to Manchester United.
To announce his departure, the popular footballer took to Instagram where he posted a video thanking his fans for their support. “In the end, we can all look back and realize that we achieved great things, not all that we wanted, but still, we wrote a pretty beautiful story together,” he said.
Manchester United took to Twitter to welcome Ronaldo back where it said in a statement that everyone at the club was looking forward to welcoming the football star player’s return.
Manchester United’s move comes just a day after reports that its longtime rival, Manchester City, was the front-runner to sign Ronaldo. The star forward agreed to a 15 million euro deal with a potential for 8 million euro in add-ons over two years.
Cristiano Ronaldo, a four-time Ballon d’Or winner, is slated to leave Italian club Juventus F.C. and return to Manchester United, subject to agreements on visa, medical and personal terms. Manchester United has agreed to pay Juventus roughly $27 million to start, and reports have it that Cristiano Ronaldo will likely sign on to a two-year deal with the English Premier League club.
Manchester United is the 4th biggest club in the world with a revenue of $698 million generated in 2020. With Ronaldo back in Manchester United, the club aims to return to prominence both domestically and internationally. Ronaldo is the most prolific scorer in the Champions League’s history with 134 goals, 14 more than that of rival, Argentinian football star Lionel Messi.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most decorated football players in the world, and one of the richest too. According to a Forbes estimate, Ronaldo earned $120 million in the past year, making him the third highest-paid athlete in the world, coming in just after boxer Conor McGregor and Lionel Messi. He was also the first athlete to exceed $1 billion in career earnings last year.
