When a tornado touches the ground, you don’t want to be in its path as it is going to be highly hazardous to your health! Well, the same can be said of poor Newcastle United who are going to be the visitors to Old Trafford on Saturday as Cristiano Ronaldo makes his return to Manchester United.
The incredible Portuguese star made the move back to Old Trafford at the end of the transfer window, with Manchester United selling winger Daniel James to Leeds United in order to make space for him in their squad.
His return has Manchester United fans in particular, and many football fans in general, keen to see whether he can keep up his incredible goalscoring rate over the last 15 years in particular, when he has starred for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, as well as the Portuguese national team.
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If you follow CR7 from further afield, say the United States, and you want a bet on his return to Old Trafford, then check out the fantastic range of soccer bets available at BetRivers Sportsbook, not just on this weekend’s action, but throughout the season.
Let’s see how this weekend’s fixtures shape up in the Premier League before we focus a bit more on Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford.
Premier League Matchday 4 Fixtures (11th – 13th September)
- Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur
- Arsenal v Norwich City
- Brentford v Brighton
- Leicester City v Manchester City
- Manchester United v Newcastle United
- Southampton v West Ham United
- Watford v Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Chelsea v Aston Villa
- Leeds United v Liverpool (Sun)
- Everton v Burnley (Mon)
Currently Manchester United are one of several teams that have earned seven points from their three games so far. The others being Chelsea, West Ham, Liverpool and Everton. Tottenham are top of the Premier League with three wins from three games.
At the foot of the table, three teams are without a point so far, Arsenal, Norwich and Wolves with the first two teams taking on each other this weekend at the Emirates Stadium in London.
Michail Antonio of West Ham is the leading scorer with four goals so far, while Bruno Fernandes, Dominic Calvert Lewin and Mason Greenwood have three goals each.
Paul Pogba has the most assists in the Premier League so far this season with five, two more than Michail Antonio and Gabriel Jesus.
The Return Of Ronaldo
When Manchester United announced that Cristiano Ronaldo would be returning to England
with them, and not with rivals Manchester City as many had expected, it was the signing of the transfer window in the Premier League.
After hugely successful spells with Real Madrid and Juventus, in which he picked up an incredible 26 Major trophies in club football, the Portuguese legend celebrated his return to his former club in style in the international break.
His two late goals against the Republic of Ireland not only rescued Portugal from losing the game to earn an unlikely win, but also saw Ronaldo break the world record for international goals, which is now set at 111 (in 180 caps). He now surpasses Ali Daei as the FIFA recognised record holder for international strikes.
At 36, his speed may not be quite the same as it once was, but his fitness and athleticism are such that he reckons he will be able to play at the highest level until he is 40. Manchester United fans will certainly be hoping that is the case.
With injuries to Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, plus Anthony Martial seemingly out of favour at the club and Daniel James sold to Leeds to open up a space for Ronaldo in the squad, it looks likely that Ronaldo will make his return to United as a starter this weekend. Probably playing the centre forward role, with Mason Greenwood moving to a wider position.
So why the excitement for Ronaldo’s return? Well let’s take a look at his career stats to understand why.
Cristiano Ronaldo Career Stats
- Club Games – 897
- Club Goals – 674
- International Caps – 180
- International Goals – 111 (a record)
Club & Personal Records
- 2002-2003 – Sporting Lisbon – 33 Games – 5 Goals
- 2003-2009 – Manchester United – 292 Games – 118 Goals
- 2009-2018 – Real Madrid – 438 Games – 450 Goals
- 2018-2021 – Juventus – 134 Games – 101 Goals
- 2021 – ? – Manchester United
- 31 Major Honours in Club Football, 5 Ballon D’Or wins, (6 runner’s up awards).
- He has also won the European Championship and been runner up in the tournament with Portugal, as well as winning the Nations League with his country.
Cristiano Ronaldo Fact File
- He is the only Manchester United player to score over 30 goals in a Premier League season, when he netted 31 in the 2007/08 season.
- His last goal for Manchester United was on May 10th 2009, when he scored a trademark free kick against Manchester City in the Premier League.
- He is one of just four Manchester United players to win the Ballon D’Or while at the club. The others being club legends George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton.
- He is seventh in the all-time list of Premier League goalscorers for Manchester United and needs just seven more to overtake his manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the list.
- He needs 16 more Premier League goals to become the first player ever to score 100 goals or more in both the Premier League and La Liga.
- Since reaching the age of 30, Cristiano has played in 356 matches at club level and has scored an incredible 320 goals.
- After winning the European Championship with Portugal in 2016, Madeira’s international airport was renamed after him and there is a statue at the airport in his honour.
- He is Real Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer, averaging better than a goal per game in his time in Madrid.
Manchester United v Newcastle United Preview & Tips
Manchester United should be confident of picking up all the points in this game at the weekend. Newcastle have managed just one point so far this season and there is real concern that Steve Bruce’s side are going to have a long hard struggle against relegation this season if he cannot put together some form.
That is unlikely to happen at Old Trafford where United have been in good form of late, after suffering some poor form at home at the start of last season. Their away form is still outstanding however, although they were recently held on the road at Southampton.
I can’t make any real case for Newcastle to win this game and I do feel it will be a very comfortable win for the home side and the bets I would make for this game are as follows.
- Manchester United to win 3-0 – 15/2
- Cristiano Ronaldo to score first and Man Utd to win 3-0 – 14/1
- Half Time/Full Time – Man Utd / Man Utd – 8/11.
If you are going to have a bet on Ronaldo’s return then good luck and here’s hoping that you back a winner!
