Manchester United winger Zoran Tosic has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo told his team-mates he would join Real Madrid before the Champions League final.
Both United and Ronaldo had regularly denied stories that the player would move to the Bernabeu, but it was announced this month that the club had accepted an £80 million offer.
And Tosic, who has been to tipped as Ronaldo’s long-term successor, says the players knew he would leave long before it was made official.
"Yes, I spoke with Cristiano,” he said.
“He told us that he had won everything he could win and wanted to try something else.
“I believe that, at Madrid, he will again become the best player in the world.
“Last season, he scored 42 goals; this season, he scored 25. However, everyone’s talking about how he had his worst season – it wasn’t enough.”
He added: “It may be good for me that Cristiano has left, but I think someone else will come in in his place.”