Ole Gunnar Solskjær has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo will be making his second Manchester United debut against Newcastle tomorrow. The manager spoke to the media at length about the return of the player, and has spoken that he is performing well in training with the others.
Here is what Solskjær had to say:
“He will get on the pitch at some point that’s for sure.
“Cristiano and Raphaël (Varane) comes in and there is no place to hide with winners like that. You can’t give 95% in training when you have winners like them.
“He’s been having a good pre-season with Juventus, played with the national team, had a good week with us. He seems happy to be back. Mood’s been very good.
“We’ve got mutual respect for each other, but he knows I’ve got to make the decisions when to play, when not to play.
“It’s my job to get the best out of him, that comes from communication. He doesn’t need me to tell him what to do.
“We know what he’s achieved in his career but he wants to achieve more. He puts demands, he’s lived his life with the discipline of a top pro. Ryan Giggs played until 40 and I’m not gonna be surprised if Cristiano ends up with the same age.
“Everyone evolves and develop throughout their career, Cristiano is a different player to one who left but he’s in such good nick still and will be looking in next few years to play and score as many goals as he can.”
Ronaldo broke the European international goalscoring record in the international break, surpassing Iran legend Ali Daei’s tally of 109 goals. The Portuguese captain was suspended for taking off his shirt and celebrating and was released from the national team early as a result.
He has since been training with Solskjær and after a preseason with Juventus, is seemingly ready to wear the number seven shirt again. Whether or not he will start the game remains to be seen, but the Old Trafford faithful will surely be in for a treat with the return of one of their best players ever.
