Bryan Mbeumo's childhood love of Manchester United, which began when Cristiano Ronaldo was first at the club, was behind his decision to spurn multiple other Premier League clubs this summer.

It took six weeks of tense negotiations with Brentford for United to finally strike a £71 million ($95.7 million) deal for the 25-year-old. During the fraught discussions, the Bees reportedly tried to push Mbeumo towards a move to either Newcastle United or Tottenham Hotspur. That was always a non-starter. For Mbeumo, it was only ever United.

“From the start, I wanted to join this massive club,” the Cameroon international gushed during his first interview with the club. “Now I’m here, I’m just really happy. For me, it’s the biggest club in the world. The fans are crazy, the stadium is amazing, and every player wants to play here.

“My first top was Manchester United’s top with Ronaldo behind [on the back]. It’s just such a big club and I’m really happy to be here,” Mbeumo beamed.

When Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or for the first time as a Manchester United player in 2008, Mbeumo would have been 9 and likely spent the previous few years revelling in the Portuguese icon’s rise to stardom—prime age for a footballing awakening.

Mbeumo rubbed shoulders with Ronaldo on three occasions after he returned to Old Trafford in 2021. The first two outings ended in Brentford defeats before a truly seismic afternoon at the Gtech Community Stadium in August 2022 which saw Mbeumo score the final goal in a 4–0 thrashing of United.

United’s latest recruit also touched upon the influence of his new manager Ruben Amorim. “He seems really close to his players,” Mbeumo noted. “His mentality, his winning thinking every time, this is the thing I need. I always wanted to play at the highest level. Now I’m here and I just want to show what I can do.”

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bryan Mbeumo: Cristiano Ronaldo's Role in Man Utd Move Revealed.

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