After a whirlwind day full of speculation, Manchester United have confirmed that they have reached an agreement to sign Cristiano Ronaldo for the second time in his career.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner departed Old Trafford back in 2009 to join Real Madrid. The 36-year-old, though, has returned to the Premier League side after informing Juventus that he no longer wished to play for them earlier this week
Reports of a controversial switch to United's bitter rivals Manchester City broke on Tuesday evening but, when that deal fell apart on Friday afternoon, the Red Devils made their swoop.
A club legend following his prior six-year stint at United, fans of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side are naturally overjoyed at Ronaldo's return.
One man who doesn't believe that the Portuguese superstar will be a major success in the English top-flight this time around is Graeme Souness.
Speaking before news of Ronaldo's United comeback was revealed, the Sky Sports pundit expressed concerns as to whether the Champions League's all-time greatest goalscorer will be able to cope in the Premier League when it really matters.
"I have got doubts about it," declared Souness while speaking to talkSPORT. "Juventus took him to win the Champions League, but he’s not going to be the difference in the big games.
"He’ll score goals, he will, because he’s got a brain and he’s been so athletic throughout his career.
"But in the bigger games against the better centre-halves… imagine putting him against Virgil van Dijk!"
The 68-year-old Scotsman also predicted that Ronaldo will struggle when it comes to putting in defensive work for United.
"Every successful team has players where everyone is working to get the ball back.
"The top teams don’t have any passengers and if you’re taking Ronaldo at this time, he ain’t going to give you the hard yards."
Make no mistake, United aren't signing the same player who left Old Trafford 12 years ago. Back then, Ronaldo was the reigning Ballon d'Or holder - and at the peak of his powers. As Souness points out, his recent run of form at Juventus was far from world-beating.
With that said, United are still getting an exceptional talent, who can absolutely make a positive impact for them over the next couple of seasons. Quite how heavily Solksjaer will be able to rely on Ronaldo to transform games for his side remains to be seen.
Without a doubt, though, the presence of Ronaldo means that the current Premier League season just got even more interesting.
Ronaldo to Manchester United DONE DEAL! (Via The Football Terrace)