Ronaldo to Man Utd: Cristiano Ronaldo’s massive record as No.7 ahead of Manchester United return- Manchester United will have Cristiano Ronaldo soon make his second debut for the club after his glorious first spell that started in 2003. The Portuguese star spent six seasons with the Red Devils between 2003 to 2009 before moving on to Real Madrid.
Since Ronaldo’s departure, United has struggled to replace their iconic number 7. Stats suggest that the Portuguese icon has scored 368 more goals than all the six players COMBINED who were expected to be his successors at No 7 at United in the past 12 years.
Welcome 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲, @Cristiano 🔴#MUFC | #Ronaldo
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 27, 2021
Ronaldo scored 392 goals during his stints at Real Madrid which was followed up by a 3-year spell at Juventus. On the other hand, His replacements’ at Manchester United, on the other hand, scored only 24 goals combined for the Old Trafford outfit since 2009.
Man United’s current number 7, Edinson Cavani, leads the list with 10 strikes to his name. However, apart from the Uruguay striker, the iconic shirt number seems to be a major jinx for United.
Antonio Valencia netted just once, wearing the No 7 and Angel Di Maria scored 2 while Memphis Depay found the back of the net three times. Micheal Owen registered five goals for United during his three-year stint with the Red Devils.
However, the number 7 jinx seemed to have heavily affected the Former Arsenal star, Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean greats fell into a major slump since he made the switch from Emirates to Old Trafford in 2018.
Sanchez’ failed to perform whenever he got the chance at Man United with the club forced to send him off on loan at Inter Milan. He decided to make his loan move permanent later next summer ending his stint at Man United. Sanchez scored only three Premier League goals for the Red Devils and five overall.
Ronaldo on the other end scored 450 in 438 matches for Real Madrid during his time in Spain. he later moved to Italy playing his trade for Juventus where he scored 101 goals in 134 matches.