Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes has confirmed a deal that would see the Juventus striker return to Old Trafford is very close.
Manchester City were offered the chance to sign Ronaldo and considered making a move but pulled out of negotiations on Friday.
City were believed to be Ronaldo’s first choice but while recognising his qualities as a player, there was not a great deal of enthusiasm among the board as he is not the profile they would normally go for.
The 36-year-old’s departure from Juventus was confirmed by boss Max Allegri on Friday, as he told a press conference he was told by the player he had “no intention” of playing for the club again.
“Yesterday, speaking with Cristiano, he told me that he has no intention to stay at Juventus and for this reason, he will not be called up tomorrow [against Empoli] and he didn’t train this morning,” Allegri said.
“I’m absolutely not disappointed, because Cristiano took his own decision. He was here for three years, he gave his contribution, he put himself at Juventus’ disposal, and now he’s leaving and life goes on.
“Cristiano did a lot for this club, he’s a great champion, I wish him all the luck in the world wherever he will play. He is only to be thanked for what he did for Juventus.”
Sky sports reports that Ronaldo spent an hour and a half at Juve’s Continassa training ground on Friday morning to say his goodbyes to his team-mates and empty his locker in the changing room.
He subsequently left and boarded a private jet directed to Lisbon at Turin’s Caselle airport, with his future set to be decided in the next few hours.
Ronaldo is in the final year of his contract in Turin worth around £500,000-per-week and the Italian giants are asking any suitor to pay a €25m (£21.3m) transfer fee.