Why Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo's proposed move to Manchester City in 2021 collapsed has now seemingly been revealed.
Prior to his sensational return to Old Trafford from Juventus in August last year, the 37-year-old was briefly linked with a shock move to rivals City.
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At the time, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner had a year remaining on his contract in Turin and had spent the majority of the transfer window behaving as if he would see out the remainder of his deal.
However, in the last week of the window, reports across Europe emerged strongly suggesting that the Portugal international would not continue at the Allianz Stadium, and that the Citizens were the favourites to acquire his services following their failed attempt to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur.
Then, on 27 August, Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri said in a press conference that Ronaldo had informed him that he would not be playing for the Italian giants again.
Just hours after that, the Red Devils announced they had agreed a deal with the forward, seemingly beating their town rivals to the Portugal marksman's signature.
However, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the five-time UEFA Champions League winner's move to the Etihad was not as close as many had been led to believe.
"As you'll remember last summer, there were talks over a surprise move for Cristiano Ronaldo to join Manchester City," he wrote in a column for CaughtOffside.
"Still, it was never 100% approved by the board or by the technical staff at City."There were also some issues at Ronaldo's end with his agent Jorge Mendes, so the deal collapsed, even though Juventus were happy to accept the move.
"In the end, United appeared on the scene and Ronaldo was happy to join them as soon as their interest became apparent."
In the most recent window, it was claimed that Ronaldo was again offered to Pep Guardiola's side, but the club reportedly rejected the chance to sign him.
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Following his return to the Theatre of Dreams, he has scored 25 goals in 46 games across all competitions for the Red Devils.
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