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          Cristiano Ronaldo back at Manchester United: How social media reacted

          • Chris Wright, Toe Poke writerAug 27, 2021, 12:55 PM ET

          On a truly bewildering day of transfer action, Manchester United look to have pulled off a major, major coup.

          The Premier League side have agreed a blockbuster deal to re-sign Cristiano Ronaldo after striking a bargain with Juventus for the 36-year-old Portuguese star.

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          Via a statement posted on their official website, United claim the move is close to completion with only formalities such as personal terms and a medical being rubber-stamped.

          Ronaldo cut his teeth during his first stint at Old Trafford, scoring 118 goals in 292 games before leaving to join Real Madrid in 2009 as a modern-day Galactico. Since then he has truly ascended to greatness, winning all there is to win and breaking just about every performance record there is to break.

          United's huge announcement comes as the dramatic conclusion to a chaotic 24 hours in which rivals Manchester City were first reported to have made contact with the player's agent, Jorge Mendes, about bringing Ronaldo back to the Premier League.

          While nothing is official quite yet, several excited United players popped up on social media to welcome Ronaldo back home.

          Jadon Sancho couldn't quite believe what he was witnessing as the story unfolded over the course of an afternoon.

          Bruno Fernandes went a step further by hinting that he had played an instrumental role in luring his Portugal teammate to United.

          Former United colleague Patrice Evra also claimed to have gotten the scoop on Ronaldo's prodigal return, sharing a screenshot of a supposed Whatsapp conversation between the pair in which the latter revealed he would be returning to "our club."

          RB Leipzig also took the credit by claiming that Ronaldo swerved on signing for City at the last minute due to Pep Guardiola's side being drawn against them in the Champions League "group of death."

          Meanwhile, there was also a chance to poke fun at United fans, many of whom had to swiftly change their tunes having previously laboured under the illusion Ronaldo was poised to join their crosstown neighbours.

          Of course, Gary Neville jumped at the opportunity to poke fun at erstwhile nemesis Jamie Carragher, who had previously run the rule of Ronaldo's impending transfer to City.

          And just to cap off the mayhem, there were also fingers crossed that Ronaldo would revisit the infamously gaudy knitwear he sported the last time he signed for United, back in 2003.