Manchester City deny recent hints from Cristiano Ronaldo that he was 'close' to signing with them in the summer of 2021.

Cristiano Ronaldo was looking to leave Juventus after three seasons last year - and in August 2021 it was reported that a move to Manchester City of all places was a possibility.

The Portugal international has now backed those rumors, claiming in his recent TalkTV interview with Piers Morgan that a move to City was "close". However, after intervention by Sir Alex Ferguson, he decided to re-sign with Manchester United.

However, ESPN reports that Man City officials vehemently deny this version of events, insisting their interest in Ronaldo was "slight". Accordingly, there could have been no talk of advanced talks or even an impending implementation.

In the summer of 2021, Pep Guardiola's side had been actively looking for a new striker after an offer for Tottenham's Harry Kane was rejected in the same transfer window.

City ultimately decided against signing a new centre-forward and entered their league-winning 2021/22 season with a series of half-baked solutions down the center of attack - with the only skilled centre-forward - Gabriel Jesus - curiously on the wing was used.

Jesus joined Arsenal in the summer of 2022 while City won the race to sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. As is well known, the Norwegian shoots everything short and small with the Skyblues, which is why you should be happy at Etihad Stadium not to have gotten Ronaldo in 2021.

This article was originally published on 90min.com as Man City deny Ronaldo portrayal.