Man Utd legend explains why Ronaldo return ‘refreshing’
Mark Hughes has described Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United as “refreshing”.
The 36-year-old has rejoined United after 12 years away, after glittering spells with Real Madrid and then Juventus.
Ronaldo’s return has been met with much fanfare from the Old Trafford faithful and former United star Hughes claims the move is a romantic one, with the Portugal international valuing the emotion involved rather than pure financial gain.
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He is still thought to be on around £285,000-a-week, making him United’s highest paid player, but Hughes claims it’s “refreshing” that he opted for the Red Devils over a more lucrative move to perhaps Qatar or China.
“It’s fantastic for Manchester United and it’s good for him,” Hughes told the Daily Mirror. “It makes sense him going back. It’s the right time and the right opportunity and there’s no reason why he can’t make a success of this.
“Certainly when I went back I had the opportunity to stay in Germany with a great club, Bayern Munich.
“I was having a great time and it was only the fact that it was Manchester United, because to anybody else trying to get me back I would have said, ‘No’.
“It’s the pull of the club. I had been there since I was a kid. I had an emotional pull and attachment so when I knew they wanted me back it was an easy decision for me as an individual and for my family as well.
“I’m sure Cristiano has had similar feelings and has gone through similar emotions.
“People comment on the size of fees and the money involved but that’s not an issue for Cristiano because he is a very wealthy man.
“It’s quite refreshing when money hasn’t been a deciding factor in this transfer. It’s happened simply because he wants to be back at United and you would like to think he sees an opportunity to continue winning trophies, which he has done all his career.”
Ronaldo reportedly delivered a simple message to his new United teammates while away on international duty – ‘We need to win the league’.
