Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United transfer - when he will sign, who his first game will be against, how to watch his debut

Fans of Manchester United hold up a cardboard cutout of Cristiano Ronaldo during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United at Molineux on August 29, 2021 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Manchester United hope to complete the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in the next 24 hours.

The Portugal star is closing in on a return to United after Mason Greenwood’s late goal gave them a 1-0 victory at Wolves on Sunday.

On Friday, United announced they have agreed a £19.7million deal with Juventus to bring Ronaldo back to Old Trafford, 12 years after he left for Real Madrid.

And manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer warned his Man United forwards Ronaldo will not be warming the Old Trafford bench.

Solskjaer’s side squeezed past Wolves despite being second best for much of the match and the manager insisted he expects the 36-year-old to go straight into his side.

“He is not signing to sit on the bench. He is going to make us a better team,” said Solskjaer.

“We need to get all the paperwork done, hopefully we can get that sorted and we can announce it 100 per cent.

“Then he is away with Portugal, they have three games, his last game is Tuesday (September 7) and then we can get him back to Manchester and be involved as soon as possible.”

Portugal host Republic of Ireland on Wednesday in a World Cup qualifier before travelling to Qatar for a friendly on Saturday. They then travel to Azerbaijan on Tuesday for another World Cup qualifier.

Man United’s first game back from the international break is against Newcastle United on Saturday 11th September at Old Trafford with a rare 3pm kick-off for the Red Devils.

This means the game won't be televised live in the UK due to the return of the national blackout following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The initial release of tickets for this game have now been sold. There will be a number of additional releases in the lead up to the game — which will be sold exclusively online to Official Members only.

Highlights of the game will be broadcast on Match of the Day on Saturday night.

Ronaldo’s big rival, Lionel Messi, made his debut for Paris St Germain on Sunday night.