Saturday, September 4, 2021 at 08:39• Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk • Last update: 08:47

Simon Jordan thinks many a Premier League defender will not have sleepless nights leading up to and after matches against Cristiano Ronaldo. Manchester United completed the return of the 36-year-old Portuguese to Old Trafford on the last day of the summer transfer market. Ronaldo was a real winger in his first period, but now he lives more and more for goals. Although Juventus had a mediocre season, Ronaldo finished as Serie A’s top scorer with 29 goals.

Jordan is one of the critics who likes to be surprised by Ronaldo in his last dance in England. The former Crystal Palace chairman thinks in advance that the attacker can no longer handle the level in the Premier League. “I don’t think Virgil van Dijk will be very afraid of Cristiano Ronaldo. Or defenders from other big clubs,” Jordan emphasized in conversation with talkSPORT. “That will be true for players from Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Brentford and Newcastle United.”

“We’ll see if Ronaldo is able to decide games once he has to play against good centre-backs. I question that.” Van Dijk and Ronaldo only faced each other once in a club and that was in the Champions League final of 2018. Real Madrid won 3-1 at the time, partly thanks to two goals from Gareth Bale. Ronaldo was less in the story in Kiev.

Ronaldo can’t provide great stats against Liverpool anyway. In his first stint at Manchester United, he played eight league games against the arch-rival and only got two goals and two assists. His first goal against the Reds only took place in his fifth season: the 2-0 in the 3-0 win in March 2008. Exactly one year later he also scored in the 4-1 victory. After his period as Mancunian he faced Liverpool only three times: the 2018 CL final and also in the 2014/15 group stage: thanks in part to a goal from the Portuguese, Real Madrid won 0-3 and the reunion ended in 1-0 thanks to a goal from Karim benzema.

Ronaldo will also play with his trusted number 7 shirt in his second stint at Manchester United. He takes over from teammate Edinson Cavani, who from now on will have number 21 on the back. In his first stint with United, who took over from Sporting Portugal, he scored 118 goals in 292 official games.

For Juventus, the five-time winner of the Golden Ball scored 101 goals in 134 official matches. Ronaldo has signed a two-year contract with an option for an additional year. He can make his comeback in the home game against Newcastle United next Saturday.