Manchester United are in pole position to sign Cristiano Ronaldo following the intervention of the Juventus forward's former Old Trafford teammates, sources have told ESPN.
The 36-year-old, who spent six years at United between 2003 and 2009, is set to leave Juventus before the Aug. 31 transfer deadline after confirmation from the Italian club's coach, Massimiliano Allegri, that he has asked to leave the Serie A team.
- Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
- Don't have ESPN? Get instant access
Manchester City had seemed to be Ronaldo's next destination after ESPN sources revealed on Thursday that the former Real Madrid player had spoken on the phone to City manager Pep Guardiola about moving to the Etihad.
But City have now abandoned their attempts to sign Ronaldo, who had become a target following their failure earlier this week to strike a deal with Tottenham for Harry Kane, following United's late move to open talks with Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes on Thursday.
Sources have said, however, that Ronaldo still favoured a move to Premier League champions City when United entered negotiations and was only convinced to consider a return to Old Trafford following contact from a number of former teammates.
City were left unhappy by Mendes' behaviour, according to ESPN sources, as Ronaldo's agent decided it would be better to make an emotional return rather than join hated rivals.
ESPN has been told that Ronaldo was still exchanging texts and WhatsApp messages with some ex-players as late as 1 a.m. BST on Friday morning.
Wayne Rooney, who played alongside Ronaldo at United, spoke on Thursday to say he doubted that Ronaldo would risk his reputation at Old Trafford by signing for City.
And sources have told ESPN that Ronaldo was told in clear terms by former teammates that his standing in United's history, and the affection with which he is still held by the fans, would be damaged forever if he signed for City.
Sources added that the contact from ex teammates tugged at Ronaldo's heart strings to the extent that he informed Mendes he favoured a move back to United rather City, leading to the Etihad outfit backing out on Friday to leave United a clear path to sealing a deal.
Information from ESPN correspondent Rodrigo Faez was used in this report
Source: espn.co.uk