By Babs Oyetoro
His sensational return to Old Trafford where he began the journey to stardom almost twelve years ago hit the news wave like a thunderbolt.

What started like transfer gossip later became a reality to the bewilderment of football fans who had earlier thought that the Portuguese was on their way to Manchester City.

When the cat was finally let out of the sack, Cristiano Ronaldo stunned the world in a dramatic U-turn as he announced that he was heading back to Manchester United -the Theatre of Dreams, where his journey to stardom began.

He came from Sporting Lisbon in 2003 at age 18 and stayed with Manchester United for six years before he later left for Real Madrid at 24.

That was the prime era of his career, going by his age, but certainly, it wasn’t his peak in performance.

Before his departure, Ronaldo made remarkable impacts winning three Premier League titles during his six-year spell at Old Trafford, as well as the FA Cup, two League Cups, and the Champions League.

The moment the club officials gave the hints that the five-time Ballon d’ Or winner was on his way back to the Old Trafford, Manchester United’s official club website crashed for a short period of time because of the unusual traffic of fans who wanted to confirm the story.

This goes to confirm that the Portuguese captain has become a cult personality among the Man U fans who are passionate about their love and respect for the football star.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, once Ronaldo agrees to the terms of contract and scale through the medical test, he becomes the property of Manchester United for the next two years.

To some cynical commentators, Ronaldo at 36 would have lost the steam to go through the hostilities of the EPL unlike when he was younger, but this belief may not hold any water after all.

Many thought he would be a flop in Italy. but three seasons after he sure showed the stuff of a winner, and a champion. He tore the garment of pressure into shreds and excelled.

Now back at the Theatre of Dreams, the world is at his feet as all await another round of sparkle from the Portuguese.
At 36 he is to earn a whopping £480k per week. Certainly, this will attract a high level of pressure on him to perform.
But Ronaldo sure knows how best to handle pressure. He has shown this over time…but the case of Juventus readily comes to mind.

The human aspect of this great football player who has a knack for scoring uncommon goals came to the fore as he penned emotional note to Juventus fans, colleagues, and staff of the Italian giants.

Electricity tariff: Nigerians express outrage amid denial by DisCOs

“Today I depart from an amazing club, the biggest in Italy and surely one of the biggest in all of Europe. I gave my heart and soul to Juventus, and I’ll always love the city of Turin until my final days.

‘’The “tiffosi bianconeri” always respected me and I tried to thank that respect by fighting for them in every game, every season, every competition. ‘’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.’’

It would be recalled that Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has so far won over 30 major trophies during his career, including five UEFA Champions League titles, four FIFA Club World Cups, seven league titles in England, Spain and Italy, and the European Championship for his native Portugal.”