Manchester United close in on Cristiano Ronaldo's sensational return to Old Trafford

An astonishing day at Manchester United took an incredible twist on Wednesday night when it emerged the club are close to securing the return of Cristiano Ronaldo.

According to Sportsmail, outgoing United chief executive David Gill has been in Madrid to meet Jorge Mendes, the Portuguese super-agent who represents the megastar.

Sources on Wednesday night insisted the Barclays Premier League champions are confident of securing the return of the player they sold to Real Madrid for a world record £80million in 2009.

Outgoing boss Sir Alex Ferguson made no secret of wanting to see former World Player of the Year Ronaldo come back to Old Trafford.

When United met Madrid in the Champions League earlier this season, Ferguson said: ‘Was I tempted to bring him back? Yes. He’s still in the hamper.’

On Wednesday, in reaction to Ferguson's decision to retire, Ronaldo tweeted: ‘Thanks for everything, Boss.'

He has a great relationship with Ferguson and sees him as a father figure.

'When I arrived, even though I did not want it, he [Ferguson] insisted I have No 7 on my shirt,' Ronaldo had said.

'I was adamant that I did not want it. Then, he sat me down and told me about the history of the No 7.

He said, "Do you understand what I am trying to say to you? I think you will be worthy of wearing this shirt". With that, I understood how much confidence he had in me.'