Manchester United's fanbase is abuzz after Cristiano Ronaldo took the latest giant step towards potentially investing at Old Trafford, and there's plenty of evidence to support the idea
Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United celebrates scoring their first goal during the Barclays FA Premier League match between Manchester United and Everton at Old Trafford
Cristiano Ronaldo has dropped numerous hints over the years concerning a potential stake in Manchester United(Image: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
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Cristiano Ronaldo is officially a football club owner and on the path to one day taking a financial interest at Manchester United. The Old Trafford icon confirmed on Thursday he has bought a 25 per cent stake in Spanish side Almeria.
It signals the start of a new era for the 41-year-old, whose own playing career is still very much alive at Al-Nassr. However, the building blocks are already being put in place for what lies in store when he leaves the Saudi Pro League.
In fact, one could say Ronaldo has been laying the framework for his segue into club ownership for some years now. At least, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has made little secret of his intentions to invest once his own days on the field are done.
And there's a fine chance that road may lead back to United if Ronaldo gets his way. Mirror Football takes a look back through every subtle (and some not-so-subtle) nod and hint Ronaldo has given that suggest he's bound for a United takeover one day.
'Fixing' United comments
In typical Ronaldo fashion, the forward has already gone on record to say he can be the man to lift United out of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson haze. Of course, he was unable to do so during an ill-fated second spell as a player, which ended in 2022, but he has since made a fairly big claim about taking the Red Devils back to the glory days as investor.
Speaking at the 2024 Dubai Globe Soccer Awards, Ronaldo suggested he would get everything in order if it was him calling the shots as United owner. "The problem of Manchester United is the same.
"The problem is not always the coach. It's much more than that. If I will be the owner of the club, I will make things clear and adjust things that are bad there."
For what it's worth, Sir Jim Ratcliffe's tenure as minority stakeholder does appear to finally be yielding some fruit with Michael Carrick in charge of the squad. Admittedly, however, there's a long way to go before the club is back to the heights it resided at during Ronaldo's first stint under Ferguson.
Cristiano Ronaldo speaking to the media
Many a United fan might love the idea of having Ronaldo making the decisions at Old Trafford(Image: Maja Hitij - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
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Ownership milestone
This week's news that Ronaldo was investing in Almeria potentially presents a significant moment for the sport as a whole. Not purely because of the name now attached to the club's board, but because of the clarity it provides for a post-Ronaldo era.
The more invested someone like Ronaldo is in an idea, the easier he'll find it to bid farewell to his first love of playing football. What's more, it's easy to envision that while this may be his 'toe-dip' moment as an owner, it may not be long before his portfolio expands exponentially.
In a press release via his company, CR7 Sports Investments, he said: "It has been a long-time ambition of mine to contribute to football beyond the pitch...I look forward to working alongside the leadership team to support the club’s next phase of growth."
Ronaldo is but the latest major sports figure or retired athlete to purchase a stake in a Spanish club. Namesake Ronaldo Nazario is the owner of second-tier side Real Valladolid, while ex-NBA stars Steve Nash and Steve Kerr are shareholders in Mallorca.
The transition may not be instant, but success with one investment will likely only lead to more. And while buying a piece of the United pie might not be realistic right now, it's inevitable that will be considered one of, if not the ultimate end goal.
Criticism of the Glazers
"Anything you can do, I can do better." It wouldn't be Cristiano Ronaldo if there wasn't some part of his brain that felt that way in most areas, and the Glazer family is no different.
There were issues at United during Ronaldo's first tenure, though Ferguson managed to make hay despite the fact. However, it only became clearer as to just how deep-set some of these problems are, and Ronaldo was only too happy to point them out as his second stay at Old Trafford came to an explosive end.
Cristiano Ronaldo appears in an interview with Piers Morgan in 2022
Ronaldo didn't hold back in his stance on the Glazer family during an explosive 2022 interview(Image: @PiersUncensored/Twitter)
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"The Glazers, they don’t care about the club," he said during a 2022 interview with Piers Morgan, which unsurprisingly led to another departure. "Manchester is a marketing club. They will get money from the marketing—the sport, they don’t really care, in my opinion."
And it wasn't just squad investment where Ronaldo felt funds were lacking. He also criticised the club's failure to upgrade certain facilities since his first stint at the club, which ended more than a decade prior in 2009.
"Nothing has changed," he said when referring to the club's gym, catering and pool facilities. And United clearly concurred on some level given renovations to those same facilities were some of the chief priorities after Jim Ratcliffe's arrival at the club in 2024 to take charge of football operations.
Ownership ambitions
Despite what some might think concerning his potential to be a manager, Ronaldo has long been clear he wasn't interested in that side of the sport. However, he's been candid regarding a potential avenue in ownership for some time now.
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"Becoming a head coach or manager? No," he said at the Globe Soccer Awards in December 2024. "But maybe I could become a club owner."
For anyone in doubt as to whether he'd be able to afford moving in that direction, Ronaldo's finances are unparalleled among current of former footballers. At least that's according to Bloomberg, which reported in 2025 that the Portuguese sensation had become football's first legitimate billionaire.
It was back in 2023 that Ronaldo said: "I don't rule out becoming a club owner. It's something I thought about a few years back. I probably would like to own a [football] club. I'm at the end of my career, two to three years maximum."
It's now been three years since he made those comments, and the goal has been realised. Knowing Ronaldo's insatiable appetite, however, the objective won't be truly fulfilled until he's in control of a club truly close to his heart.