sportbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Cristiano Ronaldo Isn't In The Top 20 Most Popular Premier League Transfers Of The Season

Cristiano Ronaldo Isn't In The Top 20 Most Popular Premier League Transfers Of The Season

Ronaldo's move to Manchester United was easily the most talked about move of the summer in England, but it wasn't that popular amongst fans.

Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Manchester United this summer wasn't the most popular transfer in the Premier League, in fact it didn't even hit the top 20!

Just when everyone thought Lionel Messi's move to PSG was the most unbelievable thing to happen in the summer transfer window, Ronaldo's move back to United, 12 years after leaving, suddenly cropped up.

The news of the five time Ballon d'Or winner's return to the Premier League has been big news for the past couple of weeks, all leading up to his expected debut against Newcastle United this coming Saturday.

Whilst the 36-year-old's move has been pretty popular amongst fans of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team, outselling all other Premier League players on shirt sales within 12 hours, it's not been universally popular.

Compare.bet did a study into the most popular signings of the summer, based on the reaction on social media, and Ronaldo's post was only the 22nd most positive, despite its huge numbers generally.

Shockingly, Chelsea's signing for former Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli came top, with a whopping 99.6% positive reactions.

The top 15 transfer reactions. Image: Compare.bet
The top 15 transfer reactions. Image: Compare.bet

News articles about Ronaldo's announcement had far more engagements than any other player, with the former Real Madrid star earning a whopping 592,000 reacts to his move.

That puts Sergio Aguero's move to Barcelona way back on 509,900 and Jadon Sancho's 430,900 third place in the very dark shade.

Jack Grealish's move to Manchester City is fourth and Ronaldo's former Real teammate, and new United colleague, Raphael Varane rounds off the top five.

The leading international scorer might have the most reacts, but his record for positive reacts is well behind Bettinelli, with just 77.4% positive reactions, leaving him 22nd overall.

Of course, the numbers mean the new Blues keeper got 96,512 positive reactions, whilst Ronaldo still got 458,208, he just got many more negative reactions.

At least the former Juventus star can take solace in the fact he's officially the Greatest Player of All Time, according to a mathematician.

Ronaldo's signing not as popular as Varane's surprisingly. Image: PA Images
Ronaldo's signing not as popular as Varane's surprisingly. Image: PA Images

Negative reactions were in abundance for Odsonne Edouard and Daniel James as well, with the two least popular transfers, according to the report.

Edouard's move from Celtic to Crystal Palace earned him just 40.8% of positive reactions and James move to Leeds United, two years after he nearly moved there, was also more negative, with just 48% positive reactions.

Featured Image Credit: PA/ManUtd.com

Topics: Football, Premier League, Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United, Transfers, Chelsea