Lee Grant has joked a number of Manchester United players would have defaced an in-house mural of Cristiano Ronaldo if he had joined Manchester City.
City were strongly linked with Ronaldo after it emerged he was pushing for a move away from Juventus last week, only for United to swoop in and announce they'd reached an agreement to re-sign the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Ronaldo established himself as a club legend during his first spell at Old Trafford, and Grant has now revealed that some members of the current squad didn't react too kindly to the rumours of his potential arrival in the blue half of Manchester.
What has been said?
“As usual with these things, the players are the last to know,” the Red Devils backup goalkeeper told talkSPORT. “The news was strange as coming into the training ground, there was a lot of talk about the possibility of him heading to the other side of the city.
“We’ve got a huge picture of Cristiano in our gym and a few of the players were having a little bit of a laugh and joke about what might happen to that mural if he dared venture to the blue half of the city.
“That was an interesting conversation and then to see how quickly things moved during the day. It was incredible news. The excitement is palpable, not just with the younger players. The thing that struck me and made me realise this is huge is actually the reaction of our more senior players.
“If Lee Grant is excited, and thinking the impact that is going to have on me and my training and the level I’ve got to bring, imagine what that is going to do for our more senior players.
“I was at the nursery picking up one of my children and one of the guys – one of our more senior players – and to see the look on his face and his excitement, bordering on giddiness at the fact we’ve been able to bring Cristiano in was a real eye opener for me.”
Why have United signed Ronaldo?
United already had plenty of strength in depth in attacking areas before re-signing Ronaldo, with Edinson Cavani, Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho all vying for regular minutes.
However it has been suggested that the Portuguese will bring a winning mentality that has been lacking at Old Trafford amid their four-year trrophy drought, and Grant feels his presence will also help to raise the younger players in the squad.
"It’s a really smart move from the football club and the manager," he said. "We’ve got a lot of really talented young players at this football club. We talk about the impact Edinson had when he came to the football club and the impact he’s having to this day.
“Ronaldo will bring that same level of professionalism and example that is vital for our young players, who are still making their way in the game. We’ve got young players, but they are top young players, so to learn from the pinnacle, the apex predator in Cristiano Ronaldo, there’s going to be none better.”