Manchester United fans are counting down the days until Cristiano Ronaldo walks out at Old Trafford once again.

The deal to sign him from Juventus has been officially announced and the Portuguese legend is expected to make his debut on September 11 after the international break. The victims? Newcastle United.

Despite being 36-years-old, Ronaldo will bring his winning mentality - and his incredible ability - to the club he left 11 years ago. There’s very little doubt that he will score plenty of goals. Whether it’s enough to turn United into Premier League title winners remains to be seen.

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Considering the reaction from the United players when the agreement was announced by the club, he will fit in perfectly.

Many players, including compatriot Bruno Fernandes, reacted with delight after the deal was announced. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed on Friday that Fernandes had been talking to Ronaldo in an attempt to persuade him to join the club and not Manchester City.

Bruno Fernandes at Man Utd

It clearly worked.

However, you can’t blame Fernandes for being a little wary of the arrival of Ronaldo.

Why?

Because he may be about to lose his control over free-kicks and penalties.

Fernandes has scored 21 penalties since his move to the club in January 2020 - a record that has resulted in football fans dubbing him ‘Bruno Penandes’.

Bruno Fernandes penalty at Man Utd

But this is Ronaldo we’re talking about and surely he’ll demand that he will take spot-kicks after joining.

And that’s before we’ve even discussed free-kicks.

However, club legend Rio Ferdinand has a solution.

"I think Bruno gives up penalties but doesn’t relinquish free-kicks and corners,” he said on his FIVE YouTube channel.

"The free-kicks around the box, he’s going to be on them I think. I think his record demands that he should do that.

He takes the penalties, 100 per cent. They agree to give him the penalties but I think free-kicks around the box, Bruno’s just wiping the ball down and putting it down.

"I think Bruno sees the bigger picture, that this guy can get us over the line to win us trophies.

"If that means my percentage of goal involvements goes down but he gets his hands on a big trophy, he’d take that all day long."

The ultimate Cristiano Ronaldo quiz

So, Fernandes on free-kicks and Ronaldo on penalties?

Seems like a fair solution, doesn’t it?

We’ll see how things pan out…

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