2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season and United were knocked out on away goals. United announced early in the transfer window that they had agreed a world record fee of £80 million to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. Shortly after this, they confirmed that Carlos Tevez, who had been on loan with the club for two seasons, had not taken up the offer of a permanent contract. Tevez would later sign for United's local rivals, Manchester City. Lee Martin, Fraizer Campbell, Richard Eckersley and Manucho also left the club for an undisclosed fee. After the departures of Ronaldo and Tevez, United sought a new striker,
Cristiano Ronaldo win. Over the course of the 2002–03 season, his representatives suggested the player to Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier and Barcelona president Joan Laporta. Manager Arsène Wenger, who was interested in signing the winger, met with him at Arsenal's grounds in November to discuss a possible transfer. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, however, determined to acquire Ronaldo on a permanent move urgently, after Sporting defeated United 3–1 at the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade in August 2003. Initially, United had just planned to sign Ronaldo and then loan him back to Sporting for a year. Having been impressed by him,