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Football

28th Aug 2021

Bruno Fernandes hints he played a part in Ronaldo’s Man Utd return

Simon Lloyd

Agent Bruno

Well. It’s been quite the 24 hours, hasn’t it? Bruno Fernandes is not the only one on cloud nine.

After appearing to be perilously close to joining Manchester City, Cristiano Ronaldo is all but confirmed as a Manchester United player once again.

The club he left in 2009 confirmed on Friday afternoon that they had reached an agreement with Juventus, and that a deal would be finalised subject to a medical, visa and agreement of personal terms. None of those things are expected to be an issue.

The news was greeted with a mixture of joy and relief from United fans, with many of them having consigned themselves to his arrival at City only hours before.

Ronaldo’s compatriot Bruno Fernandes was one of the first United players to acknowledge the news on his social media, suggesting that he may have helped persuade the 36-year-old to return to Old Trafford.

‘Agent Bruno,’ his tweet read, accompanied by a laughing face emoji.

The first signs that Ronaldo may not be Etihad-bound appeared via a cryptic tweet from Rio Ferdinand on Friday morning.

By then, the former Real Madrid is said to have had a discussion with his old manager Sir Alex Ferguson. This appears to have helped persuade Ronaldo to come back to Old Trafford, with things progressing quickly from thereon.

United submitted an official bid with Juventus which was quickly accepted. Ronaldo, meanwhile, was seen leaving Turin on a private jet, upon which he flew to Lisbon.

Ronaldo is expected to have his medical in Lisbon before his move to United is finalised.

With Ronaldo set to make his United return against Newcastle United, the big question now will be whether ‘Agent Bruno’ or his compatriot will be on penalty and free-kick duty.

It will be interesting to see if Fernandes is happy to give up the set-pieces for a player he clearly looks up to.