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
Cristiano Ronaldo ovation when he came on as a 60th-minute substitute for Nicky Butt. His performance earned praise from George Best, who hailed it as "undoubtedly the most exciting debut" he had ever seen. Ronaldo scored his first goal for Manchester United with a free-kick in a 3–0 win over Portsmouth on 1 November. Three other league goals followed in the second half of the campaign, the last of which came against Aston Villa on the final day of the season, a match in which he also received his first red card. Ronaldo ended his first season in English football by scoring