The 36-year-old Portuguese superstar made his first appearance at Manchester United’s training center on Tuesday after he was allowed to leave the Portugal national team camp early.
Ronaldo has just beaten the record for most international goals after netting twice against Ireland in the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. He now has 111 goals to his name, two more than Iranian legend Ali Daei, the previous record holder.
Ronaldo was unveiled as a Man. United player in the last days of August, leaving Juventus after three years in the Italian Serie A. On Wednesday, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner had his first full training session under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Norwegian manager was one of the driving forces behind Ronaldo’s return, alerting the board and insisting United should make a move to prevent the deal between Ronaldo and Manchester City.
Ronaldo left United in 2009 for a then-record transfer fee of $110 million to join Spanish giants Real Madrid. To mark his return, Manchester United offered Ronaldo the number seven shirt, previously worn by Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani.
Afternoon, @Cristiano 👋#MUFC pic.twitter.com/oekPRebb4Y
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 7, 2021
Ronaldo, the instant record-breaker
Ronaldo’s number seven shirt smashed Man. United’s sale records in under four hours. This adds to the social media madness around his transfer back to the Premier League. Fanatics, United’s official retail partner, confirmed Ronaldo’s shirt sales reached record heights. In the first hour after they were made available, the sales bettered the best full day of global sales for the club’s online store.
Ronaldo became the biggest-selling player in the 24 hours following a transfer to a new club, surpassing Lionel Messi, Tom Brady, and LeBron James. United’s club store at Old Trafford also saw a huge demand after fans queued in their hundreds to get their hands on the number seven shirt.
A small addition… 😉ðŸ¡#MUFC | #UnitedOnTikTok pic.twitter.com/KWRSuN3Qpa
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 8, 2021
What bookies think about Ronaldo’s second United debut
Ronaldo is the favorite to open the scoring on Saturday when United takes on Newcastle at Old Trafford. The Portuguese striker stands at +200, just over Edinson Cavani at +300, and Bruno Fernandes at +350. A brace from Ronaldo is now at +220, with a hat-trick at +700. A Ronaldo assist is at +350.
United are the favorites to win the match at -625. A draw is at +600, while a surprise Newcastle win is at +1300.
With three games gone since the start of the new season, Newcastle sits just outside the relegation zone. They only won one point after drawing Southampton at home (2-2), and losing to Aston Villa (0-2) and West Ham United (2-4). Manchester United is in third place with seven points.
