Rio Ferdinand was up until 1.30am persuading Cristiano Ronaldo to join Man Utd

Rio Ferdinand’s role in helping Manchester United sign Cristiano Ronaldo has come to light following the dramatic events of Friday.

Ronaldo has agreed a deal to re-join his former club after a whirlwind 24 hours in which he sealed his departure from Juventus.

It had initially looked as though Manchester City was his destination, as news filtered through of his exit from the Italian club.

But United made a late play for his services and, after City pulled out of the race, they succeeded in luring one of their greatest players back to the club.

Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 games in his first spell at Old Trafford between 2003 and 2009 before leaving for Real Madrid.

United have agreed to pay Juventus an initial £12.85million (€15m) with another £6.86m (€8m) in add-ons, with Ronaldo poised to sign a two-year contract at Old Trafford.

The 36-year-old forward will undergo a medical in Portugal ahead of his country’s international fixtures and will then be eligible to play for the club after the international break.

It will undoubtedly be a stunning return to the Premier League for the Portuguese forward – andThe Athleticreports that fans have Ferdinand to thank for engineering it.

While former manager Sir Alex Ferguson was influential behind the scenes – and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer personally advocated for his return – it was Ferdinand who stepped up to do all he could to make it happen.

Will Cristiano Ronaldo be a success in his second spell with Manchester United? Have your say in the comments section below.

Ferdinand does not hold an official role with the club he played for between 2002 and 2014, but he remains a passionate fan and advocate for the club.

The report states that, once he heard of the club’s intentions, he ‘stepped in heavily, almost acting as a broker on behalf of United’.

He then ‘had a passionate conversation’ with his former team-mate, urging him not to tarnish his reputation with United by joining rivals Man City.

Ferdinand gave the United fans’ perspective and was ‘firm in counselling Ronaldo over the hurt seeing him joining City might cause’.

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The 42-year-old former defender used his relationship with United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to good effect during the crazy period between Thursday evening and Friday and was up until 1.30am helping grease the wheels of the transfer.

Once the news had broken that Ronaldo was indeed snubbing City to move back to his former club, Ferdinand took to social media to share his delight.

“What a 24 hours it’s been,” he wrote on Twitter after sending a video of himself nodding yesterday.

Never has the phrase ‘Agent Ferdinand’ been more apt.

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