UNITED ADMIT DEFEAT OVER RON BID
CRISTIANO RONALDO has told Manchester United he will never return to Old Trafford.
United have spent the last four seasons hoping a sensational deal could be struck to re-sign the Portugal and Real Madrid superstar.
Executive vice chairman Ed Woodward made it his mission to lure Ronaldo after succeeding David Gill in 2012.
Woodward held extensive talks with Real bosses 12 months later, but failed to land his man in a deal that would have topped £150m.
Now Starsport can reveal United have admitted defeat in their long-running pursuit of Ronaldo. A club source said: “Ronaldo has made it clear that he won’t ever come back to United. It could have happened at one stage, but not now. “The club has now accepted a deal for him will never happen and has moved on.”
The news is a huge blow to United fans and comes less than 48 hours after it emerged Ronaldo’s Real team-mate Gareth Bale has no intention of leaving the Bernabeu either.
Woodward is on a mission to sign the world’s biggest stars as he looks to provide Jose Mourinho with the ammunition to make United the most successful side in Europe again.
Bale, like Ronaldo, has also been on United’s radar for some time. But now it seems the Premier League giants will have to look elsewhere. United sold Ronaldo, 32, to Real for a then world record £80m in 2009.
The Portuguese striker scored twice in Cardiff on Saturday to help Real win the Champions League and secure his fourth winners’ medal.
Despite his age, United wanted to land a deal that would have made him the world’s most expensive star for a second time.
Ronaldo has won every major honour with Real and United believed he would consider an emotional return to Old Trafford.
Former boss Sir Alex Ferguson has remained close to Ronaldo and was also convinced he would return at some stage, but now it has emerged it is never going to happen.