The Spanish giants were chasing the versatile playmaker for several months, but European champions United refused to give them the thumb up.

Beside his future ambiguity, Ronaldo was kept on the fringes for several weeks after undergoing an ankle surgery, and returned in September as a substitute against Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League match.

However, the Portuguese ace believes that his heroics with United last season were enough to preserve his enchanting popularity at Old Trafford.

"In the game when I came back against Villarreal I wasn't nervous, but just a bit excited to see how the fans would react to me," Ronaldo told The Sun.

"Thank God things went well.

"This shows people have not forgotten all the good things we've done together and I'm very happy with that."

Ronaldo hit a massive 42 goals for Alex Ferguson's team last term, as he hopes to maintain the dazzling form this season.

"Things are going pretty well," he added.

"I’d love a repeat of last season and continue to show some good progression."