Man Utd make official Cristiano Ronaldo bid to Juventus

Ronaldo's return is inching closer

All of a sudden - and from absolutely nowhere - Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United return appears imminent. Despite appearing near-certain to join forces with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City on Thursday, things have taken a dramatic U-turn. After an intervention from Sir Alex Ferguson, the 36-year-old is now on course to return to United - 12 years after he left Old Trafford for Real Madrid. City are believed to have held talks with the player's representatives but never submitted an official bid to Juventus. They ruled themselves out of the running on Friday afternoon, when it appeared United had entered the race. Related stories:

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United have now made an offer to Juve - as confirmed by journalist Fabrizio Romano. Romano also adds that Paul Pogba, who has yet to sign an extension to his United contract, is not part of any negotiations. The midfielder has occasionally been linked with a return to Turin in the past, but looks to be staying with United for the rest of the season. https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1431265022097899522 Ronaldo first joined United as a fresh-faced teenager in 2003. He spent six years with the club, helping them to three league titles and one European Cup. He departed for Real Madrid in 2009, helping Los Blancos to four European titles of their own before heading to Turin three years ago.