As strange as it seems, Manchester City and Cristiano Ronaldo might be a perfect fit as Juventus are prepared to sell the Portuguese.
When Sheik Mansour of Abu Dhabi bought Manchester City in 2008, the new owners, more specifically Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim who was briefly given free rein to pronounce some bold claims said, “Cristiano Ronaldo has said he wants to play for the biggest club in the world. So, we will see in January if he is serious”.
However, it was all void as Al-Fahim was a big mouth who also claimed that City would try to buy Thierry Henry, David Villa, Fernando Torres and the “other” Ronaldo at the stage where he was recovering from a serious knee injury at AC Milan.
Nevertheless, City has been true to AL-Fahim’s many words in the subsequent years. Indeed, the club has invested a lot of money in top footballers and almost exactly 13 years on, all roads now lead them back to Cristiano Ronaldo.
In some ways, a move for Ronaldo makes no sense for Manchester City. The greatest of all times will be 37-years-old in February and his arrival would in all likelihood blow a hole in the club’s wage structure. He doesn’t play the way Guardiola insists his players should play, he doesn’t work hard out of possession, he has a loose understanding of the tactical discipline. Will he fit in Guardiola’s philosophy?
But still, City are in desperate need for a striker who plays through the middle after the exit of Kun Sergio Aguero. And, at this point, Ronaldo could make the perfect sense.
As for the obvious connection with neighbors Manchester United, that is upon Ronaldo to figure out and for City to relish. Moreover, he does have an affection for United and all that someone like Sir Alex Ferguson did for him. But had he loved the club as much as many United supporters like to imagine he does then maybe he would not have left for Madrid in the first place.