There’s no doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo is still deeply loved by the Old Trafford faithful, thanks to his unforgettable six-year spell with the Red Devils between 2003-2009, as there hasn’t been a year that’s gone by since 2009 where Manchester United fans haven’t pined for the Portuguese superstar’s return.
Ronaldo blazed a glorious trail scoring 118 goals in 292 games for United, winning three Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League in the process. And let’s not forget he also won the first of his five Ballon d’Or awards in 2008 during his tenure at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese superstar, soon to be 35 in February, is still one of the world’s most adored footballers, with the legendary forward having scored 10 goals and registered one assist in nine appearances for Juventus this season.
However, not to anyone’s surprise, reports in recent weeks have surfaced that Juve are planning to offload Ronaldo at the end of the season in the hope of recouping most of the £100 million they paid Real Madrid in 2018 as the Italian outfit no longer feel they can justify his mammoth £28 million-per-season salary due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to Sport.
This being Ronaldo we’re talking about, several top clubs would, of course, be interested in signing the superstar next summer, provided that the numbers compute.
United could well be one of them and it appears that the Premier League club could receive a much-needed helping hand from their sponsors Chevrolet in order to finance a potential transfer.
According to Auto Esporte – per The Sun – Chevrolet, United’s shirt sponsors since 2014, are optimistic it would be in their best interests to bring the Portuguese back to Old Trafford.
From a commercial perspective, the American automobile giant – the shirt sponsor of Ronaldo’s current employers, Juventus – has seen the positive impact that Ronaldo has had on Jeep’s sales over the past two years.
The reports add that Chevrolet also noticed how Juve’s shares rose 30 per cent on the Milan stock exchange a week after Ronaldo’s arrival in July 2018.
If Chevrolet are truly serious in lending their assistance to United in the latter’s pursuit of Ronaldo, they’ll certainly need to dig deep into their pockets as United would be required to pay a hefty transfer fee besides having Ronaldo as their highest-paid player, with the Portugal international’s current market value being £54 million, according to Transfermarkt and currently earning over £500,000 a week. Understandably also, Ronaldo is highly unlikely to accept a pay cut with what could be the last big move of his illustrious career.