I'm always a bit suspicious of transfer gossip so if I'm being honest I always thought all the Ronaldo returning to Man United rumours over the years were either spoofery or contract negotiation bluffs.
So, surprised was I to hear Patrice Evra's tale this morning of how Alex Ferguson was '99% certain' of resigning CR7 prior to his unexpected retirement.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Evra regales a conversation he had with Fergie mere weeks before he retired, where he had told the Frenchman that he had a plan to stay on for five more years. He also informed him of a big impending signing:
I said. ‘Yes, boss. Let’s do it.’ I was so convinced. He was looking younger and younger, amazing. He even told me ‘99%, Cristiano Ronaldo will come’. I was like, ‘Wow, we are ready to bounce back and to even win the Champions League again.'
The Sunday Times' journalist Duncan Castles provides more background to touted Ronaldo deal:
Ferguson had been working with Ronaldo’s representatives to bring the forward back from Real Madrid, and Ronaldo wanted the move. The decision to retire, he explained to his players, was made after a family bereavement, the death of his wife’s twin sister.
Fergie's retirement had as big an effect on Evra as it had anyone, 'You know when you are lost and you feel like the world is crumbling? It was a big trauma. I felt lost.'
Before he left, Ferguson told the left-back that there were two players who were going to make great managers one day; himself and Ryan Giggs. High praise for his former captain.
