(Bloomberg) -- Manchester United Plc’s stock price rallied as investors and fans rejoiced over the sensational return of Cristiano Ronaldo to the club he called home more than a decade ago.
Manchester United jumped 5.8% in New York trading to close at $18.29 Friday after the club confirmed a deal with Juventus Football Club S.p.A for Ronaldo’s transfer pending agreement of personal terms, visa and medical. Shares of the Italian football club rose 1.2% Friday.
Ronaldo posted a video on Instagram reflecting about his departure from Juventus, saying, “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.” His return to Old Trafford comes roughly 12 years after he left the team to play for Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid.
The team took to Twitter to welcome Ronaldo back and in a statement said “everyone at the club looks forward to welcoming Cristiano back to Manchester.”
The move came just a day after reports rival Manchester City was the front-runner to sign Ronaldo. The star forward agreed to a 15 million euro deal with a potential for 8 million euro in add-ons over two years, ESPN reported citing sources.
Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious individual award for football players, five times in addition to winning over 30 major trophies during his career. The Portuguese star scored 118 goals in 292 matches for Manchester United.
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