Manchester United, one of the world’s famous football clubs and the 4th biggest club in the world with a revenue of $698 million generated in 2020, has had its stock price rally for the day as investors and fans rejoiced over the return of their former star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, who played for the club more than a decade ago.
After the club confirmed the deal with Juventus Football Club for Ronaldo, Manchester United’s stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) appreciated by 5.84% to close the trading season at $18.29 per share on Friday’s transfer, pending agreement of personal terms, visa and medicals. Shares of the Italian football club rose 1.2% on Friday.
Ronaldo posted a video on Instagram announcing his departure from Juventus and thanking the fans for their support. He stated, “In the end, we can all look back and realize that we achieved great things, not all that we wanted, but still, we wrote a pretty beautiful story together.”
His return to Old Trafford comes roughly 12 years after he left the team to play for Real Madrid, 13-time Champions League winners.
Manchester United took to Twitter to welcome Ronaldo back and in a statement saying, “Everyone at the club looks forward to welcoming Cristiano back to Manchester.”
The move came just a day after reports that longtime rival, Manchester City, was the front-runner to sign Ronaldo. The star forward agreed to a 15 million euro deal with a potential for 8 million euro in add-ons over two years, ESPN reported, citing sources.
Bottomline
Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious individual award for football players, five times in addition to winning over 30 major trophies during his career. The Portuguese star scored 118 goals in 292 matches for Manchester United.
