By Canadian Press

‘Back where I belong’: Ronaldo completes return to Man U

Aug 31, 2021 | 8:41 AM

MANCHESTER, England — Cristiano Ronaldo is looking to the future at Manchester United after a nod to the most influential figure of his soccer past.

The five-time world player of the year completed his return to United on Tuesday after 12 years away, saying “I’m back where I belong.

“History has been written in the past and history will be written once again!” the 36-year-old Ronaldo wrote on Instagram. “You have my word!”

Ronaldo signed off his post by dedicating his return to Old Trafford to the man who first brought him to United in 2003 — when he was a skinny, supremely gifted 18-year-old winger — and turned him into a superstar.

“Sir Alex,” he wrote, “this one is for you…”

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Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager in United’s history, is thought to be among the club greats who helped to persuade Ronaldo to move back to United amid interest from crosstown rival Manchester City, which had been offered the Portugal forward by his agent. Ronaldo has previously called Ferguson “my father in sport.”

An agreement was reached with Juventus over Ronaldo’s transfer on Friday, and one of soccer’s most stunning deals in years was completed on Tuesday — the final day of European soccer’s summer transfer window — after a medical examination.

A fee of 15 million euros ($17.75 million) will be paid to Juventus over five years. That could be increased by 8 million euros ($9.5 million) depending on “specific performance objectives” achieved by Ronaldo, who has signed the two-year contract with the option to extend for a further year.

“I can’t even start to explain my feelings right now, as I see my return to Old Trafford announced worldwide,” Ronaldo wrote. “It’s like a dream come true, after all the times that I went back to play against Man. United, and even as an opponent, to have always felt such love and respect from the supporters in the stands.

“This is absolutely 100% the stuff that dreams are made of!”

A title winner with Real Madrid and Juventus, Ronaldo won the English Premier League three times with United but the club hasn’t won the title since 2013.

Ronaldo’s debut could come against Newcastle on Sept. 11, the day the Premier League resumes after the international break. A number of other teams are looking to reshape their squads before then.

Overshadowed by Ronaldo finalizing his return to English soccer, West Ham signed Croatia attacking midfielder Nikola Vlasic on a five-year deal from CSKA Moscow to give the London club more options up front for a season when it will play in the Europa League. It comes two days after West Ham signed center back Kurt Zouma from Chelsea.

Other completed deals saw Brighton buy left back Marc Cucurella from Spanish team Getafe and Wales defender Connor Roberts join Burnley from second-tier Swansea.

The priority for Arsenal, which is in last place in the league after losing its first three games, might be getting some players off its wage bill on Tuesday after an offseason of heavy spending. Willian reached an agreement with the club on Monday to end his contract two years early so he could join Corinthians in Brazil, and others could follow.

Also, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson signed a contract extension through 2025. The 31-year-old midfielder has 394 appearances since joining from Sunderland in 2011, scoring 30 goals and winning the Premier League, Champions League and Club World Cup.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

Steve Douglas, The Associated Press