The surprising part Gary Lineker played in Manchester United’s signing of Cristiano Ronaldo has been revealed.
In 2021, Cristiano Ronaldo left Juventus and joined Man United, 12 years after he left the Premier League club to join Real Madrid.
The transfer took the football world by storm and fans were over the top with the return of the player they adored at Old Trafford.
As United intervened at the last minute to steal Ronaldo from rivals Manchester City, the transfer attracted even more interest and was lauded by the fans.
The Portuguese attacker was about to sign a contract with Pep Guardiola’s team and only after intervention from Sir Alex Ferguson, Rio Ferdinand, and Gary Neville, among other United greats, Ronaldo decided to choose Old Trafford over the Etihad Stadium.
The BBC Sport broadcaster Gary Lineker disclosed in a recent episode of The Rest is Football podcast that Woodward, Lineker’s neighbour, was at his house precisely when it was announced that the player would be returning to Man United.
“Ed is a very good friend, he’s a lovely guy, genuinely a lovely guy. Cristiano Ronaldo was signed when Ed Woodward was in my back garden. That was amazing,” Lineker said.
Co-hosts Alan Shearer and Micah Richards asked Lineker if he knew that Woodward was negotiating Ronaldo’s move, Lineker replied:
“Only when he arrived. He came over and we had a lunch planned. I was cooking for a few people, Ed being one of them.
“He was on the phone when he arrived, and he was going ‘I’m trying to secure the Cristiano Ronaldo deal’.
“At that point it was looking like he was going to Manchester City. And then he [Ed] got the confirmation call. I’ve got a picture of him sat in a chair at the back of the garden, doing the deal.”
In the end, Ronaldo’s comeback to Old Trafford ended on a very bad note.
Following a season in which he scored 24 goals in 39 appearances across all competitions, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner fell out of favour with manager Erik ten Hag and decided to leave the club to join Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
