Daily Times

MANCHESTER: Cristiano Ronaldo’s second coming at Manchester United has transformed the mood around Old Trafford with fans whipped into a frenzy of excitement for the return of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner against Newcastle on Saturday. United swooped for Ronaldo late in the transfer window when it seemed he could cross the divide to join Premier League champions Manchester City from Juventus. Even at 36, the Portuguese still appears to guarantee goals.

In the past year he has won the Golden Boot at Euro 2020 and in Italy’s Serie A, ahead of Romelu Lukaku, who joined Chelsea last month for £97 million ($134 million). Ronaldo will only cost United a transfer fee of up to $27 million due to his advancing age, but has signed a two-year contract on reportedly the highest wage in the Premier League. Whether the expensive gamble pays off with a first Premier League or Champions League title since Alex Ferguson retired as manager in 2013 remains to be seen.

But the buzz surrounding Ronaldo’s return has already achieved one goal for the club’s owners, the Glazer family, in taking the focus off them. “Manchester United fans are going to be rocking for the next six to 12 months because they are going to see one of their own come back,” said former United captain Gary Neville. “He will score goals and give them brilliant moments.”

Green and gold scarves and flares were back at Old Trafford in the spring, but have scarcely been seen in United’s three Premier League games so far this season. They were replaced by cardboard cutouts of Ronaldo among the away support at Wolves two weeks ago. In a bid to curry favour, the Glazers had already sanctioned over £100 million of spending on new players before Ronaldo’s arrival, in £73 million winger Jadon Sancho and four-time Champions League winner Raphael Varane from Real Madrid.

Some of that investment should be recouped by the commercial boom for sponsors of having the Ronaldo brand back on board. Queues have been seen forming outside the club’s Old Trafford megastore this week, while news of Ronaldo’s signing saw United’s share price rise nearly six percent in a day. However, the Glazers know the surest way to quieten dissent in the long run is success on the field. Now it is over to Ronaldo to deliver.