Reds are owed ¤1m from Ronaldo sale
UNITED are owed over EUR 1m from Juventus before the end of the season from their signing of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Juventus’s accounts for the 2018-19 season revealed United are due EUR 1.2m from the Serie A champions and United sources told M.E.N. Sport it is the ‘second instalment of a solidarity payment’ following Ronaldo’s £88m switch to Juve from Real Madrid last year.
‘Solidarity payments’ were introduced by Fifa in 2001 and framed as compensation for clubs who helped to develop a player between the ages of 12 and 23. United will bank around £2.2m from Ronaldo’s move to Juve.
Ronaldo arrived at United for £12.24m at the age of 18 in 2003 from Sporting Lisbon and was sold for a then-world record £80m to Real Madrid in 2009 before he joined Juventus. The Portuguese returned to Old Trafford with Juve for their 1-0 victory in the Champions League group stage last season. “I can remember what it was like when I was at Manchester. I won lots of trophies here, lots of cups, the league, the Champions League.
“I remember the support as well, it was fantastic. Sir Alex Ferguson is someone I will never ever forget and I would like to express my best possible wishes to him.”
Ronaldo scored the opener in the return match but United prevailed 2-1.
“I was happy for the goal but I am a little bit disappointed. We should’ve won the game easily. Three, four goals.”
Ronaldo made 292 appearances for United and plundered 118 goals across six seasons, winning three Premier League titles, the FA Cup, League Cup, the Champions League and Club World Cup.
SCOTT McTominay could be out until the derby on December 7 due to an ankle injury he suffered in the 3-1 win over Brighton.
The midfielder hobbled off in the dying embers of United’s last Premier League match on November 11 and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says the midfielder is out for two more weeks.
The Reds are still without Paul Pogba, sidelined for the last two months with an ankle injury, and Marcos Rojo is also out.
Axel Tuanzebe, Luke Shaw and Nemanja Matic returned to training this week but may not feature at Sheffield United tomorrow due to a lack of match fitness.
Diogo Dalot is still three weeks away from being available and Eric Bailly and Timothy FosuMensah could struggle to play again before the end of the year as they both recover from knee injuries.
“Scotty hurt his ankle and will be out for a couple of weeks,” Solskjaer said.
“We’ve lost Rojo, he’s injured. Paul is still injured, but we’ve got Axel, Luke and Nemanja back in training, so we’re looking better, getting numbers back.
“Maybe not match-fit – Axel, Luke and Nemanja have been out for a long time. But numbers in training, we’re stronger. Tim and Eric have had knee injuries and been out for a long time.
“They’ve stepped up their recovery, not joined with team but not far away. Rojo got a muscle injury in training he’s been struggling with. He’s not ready yet, he pulled out [of the Argentina squad] in the international break and was playing on with some discomfort towards the end of that run, so maybe a couple of weeks.”
Matic could return for his first league start since September 22 at Bramall Lane alongside Fred, with the 18-year-old James Garner an alternative option, but Solskjaer’s options are limited without first-teamers McTominay and Pogba.
He added: “We lost Nemanja for a long period. That’s going to take its toll if you take three midfielders out of any top club but Fred’s stepped up and we’ll have to try to conjure up a way of replacing them.
“Scotty has performed really well this season, finally we’ve nailed a position down for him, or he’s nailed a position down for himself. And he’s played reg