Cristiano Ronaldo insists Man City came ‘close’ to signing him before Sir Alex Ferguson intervened

Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed he came ‘close’ to joining Manchester City last year, only for Sir Alex Ferguson to talk his former Manchester United star out of the move and convince him to return to Old Trafford.

The first part of Ronaldo’s explosive interview with Piers Morgan, in which he expressed his unhappiness at United while taking aim at a number of high-profile figures, finally aired on Wednesday night.

And before firing shots at the likes of Ralf Rangnick, Wayne Rooney and more, the 37-year-old’s first major bombshell came when discussing his decision to snub City and rejoin United in the summer of 2021.

Cristiano Ronaldo (right) claims he came ‘close’ to joining Pep Guardiola (left) at Man City

Ronaldo’s tell-all interview with Piers Morgan has sparked major controversy this week

Pep Guardiola’s champions thought they had secured a deal to sign him from Juventus, only for the Red Devils to hijack that transfer at the very last minute – but Ronaldo admits he was on the verge of heading to the Etihad. 

When speaking with Morgan about his initial plan to join United’s arch-rivals, he explained: ‘Well honestly, it was close. It was something that they spoke about a lot and Guardiola said two weeks ago that they tried hard to have me.

‘But as you know, [because of] my history with Manchester United, your heart, your feeling, what you did before, [it] made the difference of course – and as well, Sir Alex Ferguson.

‘So I was surprised in some way, but it was a conscience decision because the heart was speaking loud in that moment.’

The Portuguese star returned to United in August 2021 after U-turning on his plan to join City

But he admits a move to the Red Devils’ arch-rivals was ‘close’ before his beloved club came in

Sir Alex Ferguson also urged him to steer clear of City and return to his former club

Morgan then asked Ronaldo if he spoke with Ferguson, under whom he developed into one of the best players on the planet at United, before U-turning on his decision to sign for City.

‘Yes I did [speak to him]. He said to me that it’s impossible for you to come to Manchester City. And I said ok boss!

‘So I took the decision and I repeat, it was with conscience that it was a good decision.’

Ronaldo has not enjoyed the same success since returning to United that summer, despite scoring 24 goals in his first season back at Old Trafford.

Now the Portugal captain finds himself at his nadir in Manchester after gradually falling out of favour under Erik ten Hag this season and, now, unleashing an astonishing attack on the club in his interview with Morgan.

But he believes standards have dropped after Ferguson’s departure and facilities have stayed exactly the same since he left in 2009.

Ronaldo opened up on his current unhappiness at United in his bombshell chat with Morgan

‘I thought when I signed and they signed [Jadon] Sancho and [Raphael] Varane plus me that things would be in the way that Manchester should be,’ he continued. 

‘As you mentioned, Sir Alex Ferguson left a big gap in the club. But not only Sir Alex. One man that I thought made a difference was David Gill. He was a very good man.

‘The structure around Sir Alex was very important too, and I knew that Manchester United wasn’t the same. But I didn’t see that it was such a big gap over the last 10 years.

‘Nothing changed. The pool, the jacuzzi, even the gym. Even some parts of the technology, the kitchen, the chefs – which I appreciate are lovely persons – they stopped in time, which surprised me a lot as I thought I would see different things.’