Cristiano Ronaldo left Juventus and rejoined Manchester United in the final days of the summer transfer window.
The forward, who had less than a year left on his contract with the Serie A side, was linked with a move away from Juve since the end of the previous campaign.
Fabio Paratici’s successor at the Turin club, Federico Cherubini, has given an interview to Tuttosport, where he detailed the Old Lady’s decision to cut ties with the 36-year-old.
“Signs before the last week? In the week before Udinese match, we had clear signals about his stay, to say… Let’s say right away that there were no margins to keep him,” he was quoted as saying by Calciomercto.
“Certain decisions are non-negotiable and, after all, it would not have been appropriate for the club, because the club is more important than anything and will always remain, beyond the players. So, for the sake of the club it was right to focus on the future and not hold Ronaldo back.”
“And the choice we faced was not: Cristiano comes out, as we replace him. It was: Cristiano comes out, we have to think about anticipating a piece of the future, the one we would have built at the end of this season, when his contract would have expired. And so, we did.”
No club came forward to take Ronaldo until the final week of the transfer window. The Red Devils acted late after finding out the Portugal international was negotiating with their local rivals, Manchester City.
The Italian club’s sports chief was now revealed the player’s desire to leave Juve helped in his transfer to United.
On City, Cherubini said: “There would not have been the conditions. United from this point of view behaved differently, in a market where everyone has their own interests, United behaved like a traditional club.
“Then, let’s face it, once Cristiano Ronaldo talks to us the way he did, there can be no different ending.
“In those days he was very direct, expressing his will and we, as I said, reacted thinking about the good of the club and not the immediate good, but with a view to developing a plan that could have started earlier. We could not force a person to remain in a context that he no longer recognised.
“With the greatest respect of Ronaldo, I quote what the president said when he inaugurated the Museum: ‘Our history is made up of great champions, coaches and managers, but the club is always the most important thing.’ This is the philosophy that guided us also on this occasion.”
On his return to Old Trafford, the Red Devils handed the former Real Madrid star the No.7 shirt and that happened after Edinson Cavani vacated the number.
United face Newcastle United on Saturday and Ronaldo is in line to make his debut of his second spell in Manchester.
