Transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid C.F. to Juventus F.C. "AS" reported that the Spanish club lost almost one million followers on Twitter in the 24 hours that followed the transfer announcement. Social Blade, however, was more economical in their estimate. Incidentally, Real Madrid's first match of the season had their worst La Liga attendance—46,446—since the last game before Ronaldo's arrival from Manchester United in 2009. Moreover, according to Ryan Plant of "The Football Pink", 'many' believed that manager Julen Lopetegui wouldn't had accepted Real Madrid's job offer in the summer of 2018, had he know that Ronaldo was on his way out. Thus, Lopetegui's time at the club was
Messi–Ronaldo rivalry in a game together when Manchester United were drawn to play Barcelona in the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League semi-finals and were immediately pitted as major rivals. Ronaldo missed a penalty in the first leg, but United eventually advanced to the final via a Paul Scholes goal. At the end of the year, Ronaldo was awarded the Ballon d'Or and vowed that he would win the award again. The 2009 UEFA Champions League Final was contested between Manchester United and Barcelona on 27 May 2009 at Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. The match, described as a "dream clash", was again hyped