'He wanted a jacuzzi at the foot of the bed!' - Cristiano Ronaldo's dangerous failed Manchester mansion project revealed

Ronaldo was a rising star during his initial stint at Old Trafford, with Premier League heavyweights providing him with the platform on which to build GOAT status. He won the first of his five Champions League crowns and a handful of Ballons d’Or while working under Sir Alex Ferguson in Manchester.

It was around that time, as his global status and pay packet grew, that Ronaldo acquired a taste for the high life. He is now working on the most lucrative contract in world football at Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr - which earns him close to £500,000 on a daily basis - and is the owner of a £61 million ($82m) private jet.

While building his collection of properties and supercars, Ronaldo wanted to construct an epic mansion in the North West of England. He was introduced to renowned Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto Moura through close friend Antonio Salvador, a man who would go on to become president of Sporting Braga.

Ground was never broken, for a number of reasons, with Souto Moura telling Publico all about his discussions with Ronaldo, which saw CR7 take regular breaks for training and make some bizarre requests.

He said: “I was suggested to him by a friend of his, a contractor [Salvador] who later became president of Braga, and who told Ronaldo that I had built the Braga Stadium. He asked me if I wanted to build Ronaldo's house and I said okay. 

“I had a meeting with him. I went to Manchester. I got on a plane and went there and asked: 'How do you want the house and so on'. The usual things. But he's a unique guy. It impressed me because he interrupted the conversation every 15 minutes because he was going to do training. I understand Ronaldo, that's the result of a titanic effort.

“But the house didn't go ahead because he had bought a plot of land with a large area, but the house was so big that 16 cork oak trees would have to be cut down. I told him: ‘I'm not going to cut down cork oak trees. We'll have to change land’. He got angry with the agent and told me: ‘I'm going to Real Madrid and I'm not building a house’.”

Souto Moura added on some of the curious details that Ronaldo hoped to see included in his lavish abode: “He wanted a jacuzzi at the foot of the bed, and I told him: 'No, you'll drown; you'll wake up groggy and still fall into the jacuzzi!' There were things I wouldn’t do, that's it. He understood and laughed. 

“He wasn't much of a star yet; he was someone you could talk to. And he had an obsession with family, it was a community. The house had 10 bedrooms... But it was a good experience, the relationship I had with him.”

Ronaldo has not had much luck when it comes to new builds. Work on a stunning seafront property in his homeland has been completed after nearly six years of effort. Said mansion is - according to  Semana - valued at  €25m (£22m/$30m), placing it “among the most expensive private homes in Portugal today”.

The house is built on an “exclusive residential enclave” that is just 200 metres from the ocean. Portuguese media outlet V+ Fama have, however, claimed that Ronaldo and wife-to-be Georgina Rodriguez may never move in.

They report that CR7 “could host his wedding at the property - in what would be another shock twist - before offloading it”. Ronaldo is said to have concerns “over the lack of privacy afforded to him”.

The mansion in question has “two swimming pools, a garage designed to house up to 20 cars, and sumptuously finished interiors”. It comes with “a full range of amenities, from indoor and outdoor swimming pools to a gym, spa, private cinema and generous gardens”.

It is said to come with “the most expensive materials on the market, such as Italian marble and solid gold faucets, and exclusive accessories like a Louis Vuitton mural designed especially for them”. Ronaldo may write the property off as another failed experiment, much like his “jacuzzi at the foot of the bed” proposal.