Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho vetoed a bid for Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo over the summer, it has been claimed.

The Mirror says the United manager felt that handing Real Madrid a £90million fee for a player who would also ­command wages of £500,000-a-week made no sense when he had made it his top priority to sign ­defensive ­reinforcements.

But ­Mourinho's stance backfired when United chiefs then failed to deliver Toby ­Alderweireld, Harry Maguire or deadline-day target Diego Godin.

Mourinho is still furious that ­Executive Vice-chairman Ed ­Woodward refused to splash the cash on at least one new centre-back after successive defeats to Brighton and Tottenham have left him fighting for his future ahead of today's trip to Burnley.

Ronaldo eventually moved to Juventus – and will now make an emotional return to Manchester in October after United drew the Italian giants in the Champions League.