Weekend countdown: Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Manchester United – as it happened (2024)

That’s quite enough excitement for one day. Will football ever be the same again after Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United? I suppose we are about to find out. Have a nice weekend, and see you soon.

It’s QUIZ time!

Clearly, there is a significant element of risk in this signing for Manchester United. While Ronaldo is in remarkably good shape, he is 36 years old. Serie A is obviously a very strong league, but the tempo is lower than in England, it is less physical, and it will be interesting to see how Ronaldo’s body withstands the demands of playing in the Premier League after 12 years away. (It’s worth remembering that remarkable counterattacking goal Ronaldo scored against Germany in the Euros, though, when he headed a corner clear and then tore down to the other end in handful of seconds for a tap-in.)

The points made about how Ronaldo may end up disrupting Manchester United’s team are also valid. But having said that, if a player of his calibre is available for £20million or so, it’s quite easy to see the attraction for United. As Peep Show’s Mark once memorably said: “It’s not a no-brainer, Jeremy! It’s a brainer, it’s a real brainer!”

“Can somebody call the bods at CERN and ask if there is an atomic risk with the galaxy-sized egos of Fernandes, Pogba and Ronaldo existing in the same club?” comments Spikey78. “You can always rely on United to do something stupid in the transfer market. I am sure he will score a few goals (mostly penalties) but the disruption is massive. Look what happened to Juventus since he arrived. How do you balance a team like that? It was bad enough already. Solskjaer sacked by Christmas.”

“I really hope that I’m wrong but I can’t help but feel that signing Ronaldo is a massive misstep,” writes in Gabriel Foulkes. “We need a CDM more than anything else. Best-case scenario we get a Zlatan-type, peppered with nostalgia.”

Gary Neville, Ronaldo’s former teammate at Old Trafford, isn’t in any doubt on this piece of news: “It’s going to give the club a great 12 months, Manchester United fans will see one of their own come back to old Trafford ... he will score goals, he will play as a No 9, he is coming to win trophies, he will set the Premier League on fire ... He makes great runs inside the box, he has great anticipation of where the ball is going to drop ... it gives Manchester United something that they need ...

“This could give them a temporary shot in the arm that could get them right up there this year ... this news gives me more hope that Manchester United can have a great season, and it gives every Manchester United fan a great feeling. This is one of the greats of all time, and it makes the Premier League so much more exciting this season.”

It’s Manchester City v Arsenal at lunchtime tomorrow. Here’s our preview:

Rich Jolly, as usual, chimes in with a quality stat:

Agent Bruno?

Meanwhile, over on Jadon Sancho’s Twitter: ‘SCARY HOURS!’.

The news story that has appeared on Manchester United’s website is short and sweet:

“Manchester United is delighted to confirm that the club has reached agreement with Juventus for the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo, subject to agreement of personal terms, visa and medical.

“Cristiano, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has so far won over 30 major trophies during his career, including five UEFA Champions League titles, four FIFA Club World Cups, seven league titles in England, Spain and Italy, and the European Championship for his native Portugal.

“In his first spell for Manchester United, he scored 118 goals in 292 games.

“Everyone at the club looks forward to welcoming Cristiano back to Manchester.”

The transfer news is dropping thick and fast. Fabrizio Romano reports that Tottenham have agreed to sign the midfielder Pape Sarr from Metz in Ligue 1, with the player to stay with his current club on loan for a further season.

Meanwhile, Moussa Sissoko will leave Spurs for Watford.

So, is Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United going to prove to be a masterstroke, or is he going to stink the place out? You can email me here and let me know your thoughts.

Here’s our updated story on Cristiano Ronaldo’s sensational return to Manchester United:

“The annoyance of missing out on Harry Kane was one thing but the good fortune of Cristiano Ronaldo seemingly falling in City’s lap and then slipping through could cause nightmares this season,” writes Will Unwin. “City are short of a striker after the departure of the club’s record goalscorer Sergio Agüero in the summer and could end up being left behind by their rivals.”

Manchester United have agreed a deal to resign Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus, the Premier League club said on Friday, with the transfer subject to the agreement of personal terms, visa and a medical. The Portuguese forward returns to the team where he won eight major trophies between 2003-2009. (Reuters)

It is confirmed. Cristiano Ronaldo is returning to Manchester United, 12 years after he finished his first spell at Old Trafford by signing for Real Madrid.

Who would have thunk it?

The big transfer news of the day is that Manchester United have made an offer for Cristiano Ronaldo, who has told Juventus he will be leaving in this transfer window.

Might he prove an expensive mistake, or could the Portuguese enjoy a fruitful return to Old Trafford, so late in his career? It looks on the cards that we are going to find out, either way:

We’ll be wrapping this up shortly, so here is a recap of this morning’s European draws, firstly for the Europa League, and secondly for the Europa Conference League:

Europa League: Group stage draw

Group A
Lyon
Rangers
Sparta Prague
Brondby

Group B
Monaco
PSV Eindhoven
Real Sociedad
Sturm Graz

Group C
Napoli
Leicester City
Spartak Moscow
Legia Warsaw

Group D
Olympiakos
Eintracht Frankfurt
Fenerbahce
Royal Antwerp

Group E
Lazio
Lokomotiv Moscow
Marseille
Galatasaray

Group F
Braga
Red Star Belgrade
Ludogorets
Midtjylland

Group G
Bayer Leverkusen
Celtic
Real Betis
Ferencvaros

Group H
Dinamo Zagreb
Genk
West Ham
Rapid Vienna

Europa Conference League: Group stage draw

Group A
LASK
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Alashkert
HJK Helsinki

Group B
Gent
Partizan Belgrade
Flora Tallinn
Anorthosis Famagusta

Group C
Roma
Zorya Luhansk
CSKA Sofia
Bodø/Glimt

Group D
AZ Alkmaar
CFR Cluj
Jablonec
Randers

Group E
Slavia Prague
Feyenoord
Union Berlin
Maccabi Haifa

Group F
FC Copenhagen
PAOK
Slovan Bratislava
Lincoln Red Imps

Group G
Tottenham
Rennes
Vitesse
Mura

Group H
FC Basel
Qarabag
Almaty
Omonia

Here’s our preview of Aston Villa v Brentford:

And for good measure, Brighton v Everton:

Plus! Newcastle v Southampton:

If you’re finding it hard to contain your excitement with all this transfer talk, and you’ve lost track of who’s moved where, never fear: You can see all the deals so far in our interactive guide, which is here:

Can Crystal Palace and Patrick Vieira muster up a first win of the season away against West Ham? Here’s our match preview:

The Premier League’s social media team have kindly edited together a selection of famous debut goals, including Trevoh Chalobah’s fine effort for Chelsea a couple of weeks ago, plus a sweet Alan Shearer half-volley all the way back in 1992.

The Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel, has been talking up Van Dijk v Lukaku tomorrow night and what he says is a ‘stress test’ for the recently signed forward:

“Liverpool with Van Dijk is a different Liverpool than without Van Dijk,” Tuchel said. “For Romelu, it’s a big challenge. He had now one match with us, which was a very good start, so from now on we are into details. The stress test is on tomorrow at Anfield... I am not sure if he has already reached his top level, maybe not because he has only one game in his legs, but he will have a good match tomorrow because he loves to play in these kinds of matches. I’m looking forward to it. I think many fans of football are looking forward to that battle.”

The Grimsby Town co-owner, Jason Stockwood, writes here about the important place football has in local communities, and what it will mean to welcome crowds back to Blundell Park for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began:

“Please Man Utd sign Ronaldo. Would be hilarious,” comments cavalier5. “Just when they seem to be getting some kind of unity and cohesion too. He has been a genuinely great goalscorer but is now a black hole that sucks everything in around him. He will have to start every game, will take all the free-kicks and penalties, won’t run or move when they don’t have the ball. What happens to Greenwood? Cavani? A weird [potential] signing.”

In more Liverpool news, here’s a piece by Ben McAleer on Kostas Tsimikas, the full-back who has impressed since breaking into the first team at Anfield:

England have taken a wicket! Join Tim de Lisle here (contains cricket content):

Did you know? Liverpool have won two of their past 11 home games in all competitions against Chelsea. Here’s our match preview for tomorrow evening’s Super Saturday clash:

In Scotland, it’s Rangers v Celtic on Sunday, and Ange Postecoglou sees the trip to Ibrox as a chance to further develop his Celtic team’s playing style.

“It’s August,” he said. “I know people like putting defining moments in at all different times. There will be defining moments all throughout the season. What’s important is we have had a really positive month so far and in terms of improvement in our performances and getting reward for that. Sunday is another opportunity to build on that momentum for us.

“It’s the end of August and there is still a hell of a lot of football to be played. And from our perspective, either way, we are not going to get too carried away with whatever the outcome is. We want to continually improve our performances and Sunday is a great chance for us to establish our football against a very good opponent in a difficult environment. What a great test it’s going to be for us.” (PA)

You listened to Football Weekly Extra already, didn’t you?

In the unlikely event that you didn’t, wrap your ears around this. Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Philippe Auclair, Suzy Wrack and Lars Sivertsen to discuss a busy week of news:

The Brentford manager Thomas Frank says it was a ‘sad moment’ when the forward Ollie Watkins left the club to join Aston Villa, but he added that he’s looking forward to seeing him on Sunday, when the Bees meet Villa:

West Ham have been drawn against Dinamo Zagreb, Genk and Rapid Vienna in the Europa League, and the Hammers manager David Moyes is loving life: “I’m really excited. We watched the draw this morning and watched the pots come out,” he said.

“The biggest draw was to see West Ham in one of the pots, back in Europe and hopefully we’ll get the supporters to London Stadium for the games. The players earned it with their performances throughout the season.”

Watford are in discussions with striker Troy Deeney over his future. The 33-year-old is out of contract next summer and has made just two substitute appearances this season. With no sign of a new deal, the two parties are exploring all possibilities ahead of next Tuesday’s transfer deadline.

The club said in a statement: “Troy Deeney and senior Watford FC officials are currently discussing the best options for both parties for the season ahead.” The striker has one year left on his current Hornets deal, and has featured twice from the bench so far this year during this, his 12th season at Vicarage Road. “Given the significant mutual respect between the club captain and the board, these discussions shall remain private and confidential. Neither the board nor head coach Xisco Munoz will offer further comment on this matter until a final decision has been reached.”

Deeney joined the Hornets in 2010 and has scored 140 goals in 419 appearances. With Deeney possibly about to leave the club, Xisco may be looking for a new striker. The Spaniard said: “For me the focus is on the players that are here and another person is working on this. I am focused on our squad in our team, for now the only thing is to think about that.”

Xisco was more open about the possibility of signing Tottenham midfielder Moussa Sissoko. Watford have been in talks with Spurs over a permanent deal for the 32-year-old and there is a confidence a deal will be struck before Tuesday’s deadline.
Xisco added: “He is a very good player, everyone knows he is an experienced player. He is a top player and I think he would be very good for us. We will see if he arrives. Always I say the same thing - we will have one option more in our squad to try to give all the best for our team.” (PA)

And here, in the form of a video, are some of those quotes from Guardiola’s press conference earlier:

Away from CristianoRonaldoGate, Pep Guardiola was also asked earlier today about the quotes recently attributed to him, when it was reported that he is planning to leave Manchester City in 2023. He was having none of it. Here is Richard Jolly:

The Burnley manager, Sean Dyche, doesn’t really want to talk about potential transfers.

Will Chelsea be making any signings before the transfer window closes in three days?

“Well we are hoping; we still have some ideas and we are trying,” said the head coach Thomas Tuchel. And not all decisions are taken regarding also to our squad. So there are some negotiations going on and we are aware of all the situations.

“Hoping as in meaning that we need something to make the coach happy or to be competitive? Absolutely not. Because I’m happy with the squad as it is, and I have a lot of confidence we are absolutely competitive on a high level. But still all eyes are open, and we are aware of all situations and you never know in football. But in the moment we are focused on the game tomorrow and there are not many days left to take big decisions, so it’s all good so far.”

The Norwich City manager, Daniel Farke, has been holding forth on the club’s transfer policy. Essentially he said they don’t have much cash for players, but that the most important thing is to secure the future of the club:

Farke said: “We are the only self-funding club on this level and we know this. Of course we would like to spend millions of pounds for players but it’s not possible for us, we have to work with our tools. In the last years this club was under unbelievable financial pressure, and in the last three years we have earned more money than probably each and every club in the rest of Europe and we were still capable of getting promoted to the Premier League.

“Sometimes we have to sell our best players like Emi Buendía, but we took the money and made some great signings. It’s not like we just gave this money to the bank and are happy that we have so much money - no, we tried to work with this money in order to get the best possible squad. It’s not possible to spend £50m or £60m without earning money for us. We are not capable of signing a player for £15m or £20m, we would like to do it and hopefully one day, if we were to stay as a Premier League club for a few years, we will be able to do this. The more quality you can bring in the better.

“I’m not happy just with the Championship, I want to establish this club on a Premier League level. But we also can’t risk the future of the club by doing some stupid things and if this means we can’t spend as much as some other opponents we have to accept this.”

Norwich host Leicester City at home tomorrow, kicking off at 3pm.

An update here to our transfer news story from Ed Aarons and Fabrizio Romano. Manchester City are indeed out of the race to Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus:

The Netherlands midfielder Donny van de Beek has been dropped from Louis van Gaal’s squad for next week’s World Cup qualifiers while Steven Bergwijn and Denzel Dumfries are recalled.

The coach announced changes for the three Group G matches away to Norway on 1 September and at home to Montenegro on 4 September, and Turkey three days later. Van Gaal said he was only selecting players who had played this season and had gained match fitness and the 24-year-old Van de Beek had not yet featured for Manchester United this term.

Bergwijn was left out of the initial squad last week but has been added after impressive performances in Tottenham Hotspur’s opening league games, while Dumfries was belatedly chosen after making his debut as a late substitute for Internazionale last weekend.

Van Gaal said he had spoken to Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk about resuming the captaincy of the team after almost a year out through injury, including missing the Euros. “I found it a very interesting talk but you will see if he is my captain. I’ve always had the habit of naming three captains, and you’ll see that in the coming week,” he added.

Van Gaal also said he had not yet settled on his lineup for Wednesday’s match in Oslo. “It depends on the quality of Norway, of ourselves and the availability of players. That we still wait to see. How do they arrive at the squad? Do they test positive for the coronavirus? I cannot make any decisions just yet,” he said. (Reuters)

Some more words from the Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp here, firstly on tomorrow’s match against Chelsea:

“I expect a very difficult game for both teams ... Both teams are really well organised, and will be I’m pretty sure, so it will be a big fight, definitely. It’s one of these games that I would watch 100 per cent if I would not be involved. It’s pretty much a must-watch game, if you want. Chelsea are obviously in a really good moment, won the Champions League in the last club game of last season, played an incredible, I don’t know, last half of the season since Thomas [Tuchel] was in [they have] really developed in the right direction. They brought now [Romelu] Lukaku in, which doesn’t make them worse, obviously. So, it’s a tough opponent but we are not actually in the worst moment as well and hopefully we can show that.”

On the Chelsea coach, Thomas Tuchel:

“What Thomas did at Chelsea is absolutely exceptional, I have to say. I was never in doubt about it that he would have a massive impact there. That it would go that quick? I think not even he would have expected that exactly. But he won last night the European coach of the year - and absolutely deserved. Nobody had a bigger impact last season than he had. Really deserved. I said it before, the combination of financial wealth and football knowledge is always a threat for all of us, that’s how it is. So, what they are doing is really good, no doubt about that. Thomas is an exceptional manager and coach, so all my respect.”

Nice stuff, although the mention of Chelsea’s ‘financial wealth’ seems rather pointed.

Quotes courtesy liverpoolfc.com

The weekend’s football fixtures can be found here.

The Premier League kicks off with the small matter of Manchester City v Arsenal at 12.30pm tomorrow, and it’s Liverpool v Chelsea (AKA Van Dijk v Lukaku) at 5.30pm.

The latest on this fast-developing story, according to Sky Sports News, is that Manchester City have ruled themselves out of signing Ronaldo, which makes Manchester United favourites. Jorge Mendes is speaking to United, among other clubs, so they say.

An extra line or two from Solskjær here regarding Cristiano Ronaldo’s availability:

“We’ve always had a good communication,” Solskjaer said. “I know Bruno [Fernandes] has been talking to him as well and he knows what we feel about him and if he was ever going to move away from Juventus, he knows that we are here.”

Thanks to those of you who pointed out that I foolishly confused Genk and Gent earlier on in the Europa Conference League draw.

On the plus side, at least I didn’t do this:

Patrick Vieira is asked, in light of Manchester City’s rumoured move for Cristiano Ronaldo, if he would have considered a move to Tottenham after playing for their north London rivals Arsenal. “I don’t think the deal is done, is it breaking news? I think any player tries to find a club where they can express themselves and their talent. If Ronaldo signs for City it would be fantastic news for the Premier League, good for City fans, and good for football. Would I have signed for Spurs? There is no point in me answering that question because my career is far over.”

Leeds have signed teenage Norwegian defender Leo Hjelde from Celtic for an undisclosed fee. Hjelde, 18, who will initially join up with Leeds’ Under-23s squad, has agreed a four-year contract at Elland Road. “Leeds United are pleased to announce the signing of Leo Hjelde from Scottish Premiership side Celtic for an undisclosed fee,” the Premier League club said. “Hjelde celebrated his 18th birthday this week by signing a four-year-deal at Elland Road, running until the summer of 2025.” (PA)

The West Ham manager David Moyes has confirmed Kurt Zouma is on the verge of joining the club from Chelsea. The centre-back is currently having a medical after the clubs agreed a deal reportedly worth £25m. “We lost Fabian Balbuena last season and three centre-backs is not enough,” Moyes said. “We have had an offer accepted from Chelsea for Kurt but I could not tell you if the medical has been completed yet.” (PA)

The Liverpool head coach, Jurgen Klopp, feels any club who signs Ronaldo will be doing so for short-term gain. He said: “It’s not about me to judge that, it’s just if other clubs can do things like this. It’s obviously not a business for the future, say in three or four years they have the benefit of that. It’s for now and immediately, if that happens. That’s how some clubs are obviously working and that’s absolutely fine. But there must be different ways.”

Klopp, whose side take on title rivals Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday, is not expecting any major new signings before the transfer window closes. Some fans hoped the club would replace Georginio Wijnaldum, who joined Paris St Germain in June, but Klopp says he is not short in midfield.

“If there’s an area we have on the pitch where we have all the different skill sets, dynamic, creativity, defensive-orientated, offensive-orientated, all these kind of things - there is no gap,” Klopp said. “It’s not that we have to bring in another one. We have players here with great skills and last weekend doesn’t mean Harvey (Elliott) is the saviour of our midfield problem because we don’t have one.” He added: “There is no need just to buy a midfielder because somebody is on the market. I cannot help the supporters who want us to sign a player just to get somebody in.” (PA)

The Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy has been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged with four counts of rape and a sexual assault.

“Seven years after guiding Liverpool to a second successive Women’s Super League title, Matt Beard is back on Merseyside on a mission to extract his old club from the Championship.”

Here’s Louise Taylor:

Sky Sports News report that Ronaldo is off to Lisbon, because he’s going to hook up with the Portuguese national team. So he’s not jetting to Manchester to try and spark a bidding war between United and City, it appears.

And as for the Paralympics, Geoff Lemon has the story here:

If you can handle more sport, Rob Smyth is blogging the Headingley Test match right here:

Cristiano Ronaldo has just boarded a private plane at Turin airport. Where is he off to? I fired up FlightRadar to check, but I can’t see the plane on there.

More from Solskjær, who says that the midfielder Donny van de Beek will get opportunities to play ‘when the season gets going’: