Cristiano Ronaldo is set to make a sensational return to Manchester United after the club reached agreement with Juventus to re-sign the Portugal star.

United announced shortly before 5pm on Friday they had secured a deal with the Italian outfit that was subject to the agreement of personal terms, a medical and a visa.

It capped a remarkable turn of events after reports just hours earlier had suggested the 36-year-old five-time world player of the year was poised to sign for rivals Manchester City.

He left Turin after saying goodbye to his Juventus team-mates earlier in the day.

He posted a farewell message to Juventus on Instagram, writing: “Today I depart from an amazing club, the biggest in Italy and surely one of the biggest in all of Europe. I gave my heart and soul for Juventus and I’ll always love the city of Turin until my final days.

“The ‘tiffosi bianconeri’ always respected me and I tried to thank that respect by fighting for them in every game, every season, every competition. In the end, we can all look back and realize that we achieved great things, not all that we wanted, but still, we wrote a pretty beautiful story together.

“I will always be one of you. You are now part of my history, as I feel that I’m part of yours. Italy, Juve, Turin, tiffosi bianconeri, you’ll always be in my heart.”