Former City player has claimed his old club ‘tricked’ rivals United into buying Ronaldo last summer.
Former Manchester City player Shaun Goater has claimed that his old club tricked rivals Manchester United into signing Cristiano Ronaldo.
City were reportedly in talks to sign the 37-year-old from Juventus last summer but Ronaldo eventually decided to return to Old Trafford on deadline day.
Ronaldo’s return to the club was predicted to be their turning point as the Red Devils looked to challenge for silverware this season, but things haven’t gone as planned. The striker has 12 goals and three assists in 24 Premier League games, but United are still struggling to break into the top four.
And Goater has claimed that City’s initial interest in Ronaldo may have been a “chess move” to get their rivals to sign their former player.
Speaking exclusively to Ladbrokes via Metro, the former City striker said: “I’ve got to be honest, I never thought Cristiano Ronaldo’s return was going to be a great thing for Manchester United.
“I knew he’d score goals, but I also knew that he’d take away from the shine of the future, and the youngsters they have. I didn’t think the rest of the team would score goals as a direct result of him signing; someone was going to suffer.
“That balance had to work, and I don’t think it has. If Ronaldo was told “look, use your experience, you’re obviously a key player and you’re going to have plenty of game-time, but a key part of this project is these young players coming through”, then it might have been a different story.
“But, as we can see, Marcus Rashford has gone off the boil, and I think it’s because he’s lost a lot of belief; he’s just sort of been left to figure it out.
“When I saw that news break that he’d signed for them, as a Man City fan, I thought it was good for us.
“I don’t think City were ever really going to sign Ronaldo. Pep’s teams play the way they play because it’s about the team, not about the individual – and so I truly don’t think it would have ever worked.
“It could be a really smart chess move from City, who have already thought a few steps ahead, maybe with one eye on the next summer transfer window, and by forcing United’s hand into signing Ronaldo, it’s likely to be one less team who are going to go after a striker this summer.
“I’ve been around the club long enough to know that they hardly ever get these decisions wrong. Whether that’s on the pitch or off it, they have experts across all areas, so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if City are making chess moves here that no one else has even thought of.”
Ralf Rangnick’s side will continue their battle for Champions League qualification when they travel to relegation-threatened Everton next weekend. United are currently three points behind Tottenham and Arsenal, who have a game in hand over the Red Devils.
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