Varun Pai
Cristiano Ronaldo joined Manchester United and snubbed Man City due to a 20-second phone call by Sir Alex Ferguson
According to the Daily Star (h/t The Metro), Sir Alex Ferguson played a huge role in convincing Cristiano Ronaldo to snub Man City and sign for Manchester United again.
The 5-time Ballon d’Or winner has had a storybook career as he rose from Sporting CP and went on to win the biggest trophies in domestic football. However, his reputation would have been tarnished had he made the switch to one of the Red Devils’ fiercest rivals ever.
Man City failed to sign a striker in the summer but all was not lost as they had apparently agreed on a deal to get Ronaldo out of Turin and into the blue half of Manchester.
The Citizens have been the dominating club in Manchester since the departure of Ferguson in 2013, and the addition of the Portuguese international would have broadened the gap between the two clubs, not to mention the kind of backlash the player would have received.
However, as soon as news broke of a supposed move to City, Rio Ferdinand contacted the player and tried to convince him to move to Old Trafford instead. While the centre-forward did eventually do so, the most influential factor is thought to be a 20-second phone call from Ferguson.
The Scottish manager was like a father figure to the 36-year-old during his first stint at the club, and he made his stance on the situation clear to his former pupil with the message ‘Don’t go to City.’
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Luckily for United, the striker listened to his former gaffer and has since been producing match-winning moments for them, with his brace against Atalanta in mid-week just an example of his importance to the team.
Ronaldo will now face Man City on Saturday afternoon and will be sure to rub salt in the wounds of the Etihad outfit, as the 13-time Premier League champions look to go level on points with their city rivals.
