September 04, (THEWILL) – After sealing a deadline day move to his old club of Manchester United, the world’s leading goal-scorer in male football, Cristiano Ronaldo, arrived in the UK on Saturday due to an early release from international engagement by Portugal.
Ronaldo was part of the late transfer business that saw him exit Serie A side Juventus and sign a two-year contract, with the option to extend for another year with the English Premier League club where his meteoric rise to fame began.
Upon arrival at a private terminal at Manchester Airport, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was welcomed by Darren Fletcher, his former teammate and United’s current Technical Director, who was elevated to that position in March, as THEWILL reported.
Although the rest of the Portuguese senior men’s national football team remained together for their matches, including a friendly against World Cup hosts Qatar on Saturday, Ronaldo was released early because of a suspension slammed on him for his over-the-top celebration of his stoppage-time goal in a 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over the Republic of Ireland in midweek.
As THEWILL reported, the brace the 36-year-old scored in that fixture were historic for the prolific goal-scorer making him the highest scoring male footballer at the international level with a new world record of 111 international goals.
He returns to his traditional No. 7 shirt in the colours of the Red Devils after United secured the number with the voluntary gesture of the previous owner, the veteran Uruguayan striker, Edinson Cavani, who will now wear the same jersey number as he does for Uruguay: No. 21.
United fans will hope to see him make his second debut in the Theatre of Dreams as early as Saturday, September 11, when the 36-year-old is expected to feature alongside Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s charges in their EPL clash against Newcastle United.
Ronaldo was also included in the 25-man UEFA Champions League squad of the Red Devils for the 2021/2022 season. Their opening fixture of the competition will be a Tuesday, September 14 Group F away game against Switzerland side Young Boys at the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf.
After securing his return to Old Trafford, Ronaldo openly expressed his delight to be back “home” at United and indicated his hunger to continue to create more history with the club at long as he could while in their ranks.
Hopefully, he will begin that history in that first match after the international break against Newcastle at Old Trafford.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
