Sir Alex Ferguson ended Manchester City's chances of signing Cristiano Ronaldo in just 20 seconds - Reports

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson personally intervened to prevent Cristiano Ronaldo from joining Manchester City this summer. The Portuguese ace eventually left Juventus to join Manchester United in August.

However, the deal went through a period of intense drama before the move was finalized and Manchester City were once all poised to sign Ronaldo.

However, it took Ferguson all of 20 seconds to stop the former Real Madrid star from joining the Citizens. He reportedly made a phone call to the 36-year-old forward and told him "don't join City" before hanging up.

Sir Alex Ferguson shares a special relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo

The former Manchester United manager signed the Portuguese back in 2003 from Sporting Lisbon. He joined the Red Devils as an 18-year-old and went on to become a Ballon d'Or winner before leaving for Real Madrid in 2009.

He won three Premier League titles and one Champions League, among other honors at Manchester United under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson. Ronaldo has always maintained that the Scottish tactician is like a "father-figure" to him in the footballing world.

Manchester City were thwarted from signing Ronaldo in the last minute

Manchester City parted ways with Sergio Aguero this summer, with the Argentine joining Barcelona on a free transfer. The English champions were left with Gabriel Jesus as their only recognized striker and were in the hunt for a new number nine.

After failing to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur, they turned their attention towards Cristiano Ronaldo. The move gathered pace up to the point where the player's transfer fees and personal demands had been met.

But it wasn't to be as Manchester United swept in for the Portuguese forward at the last minute. The Red Devils managed to sign Ronaldo for the second time, beating their arch-rivals in the process.

Ronaldo has made a great start to life at Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored nine goals in 11 games across all competitions for Manchester United this season. His latest exploits came in a 2-2 draw against Atalanta in a Champions League group stage match.

Ronaldo's brace against the Serie A side helped his team grab a valuable point in a tough away fixture. It was not the first instance of Ronaldo bailing out United this season.

He has already scored four match-winning goals for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side. While Ronaldo is already flourishing at Old Trafford, the Red Devils themselves are in the middle of a bad patch.

Solskjaer has seemingly run out of ideas to drill his team and is praying on Ronaldo's antics in every game. It might only be a matter of time before the Norwegian's time at the club is up.