Last update on. From the section Man Utd
Cristiano Ronaldo will be returning to Manchester United 12 Years after leaving. But what type of player is the Premier League side getting?
He has won 4 Ballons d'Or, 4 Champions Leagues and 4 league titles since leaving Old Trafford in 2009 to join Real Madrid.
He is 36 years old, but the stats still show that he is one of Europe's best goal-scorers.
How does Ronaldo's late-period stats compare to his earlier ones?
The goals...
Ronaldo's goals have fallen slightly since he scored over 40 La Liga goals in Real Madrid's three-year span. He scored 61 goals in 54 games across all competitions in 2014-15.
Although his time at Juventus was not a success, he managed to score 101 goals in 134 games across all competitions.
Ronaldo, a younger Ronaldo, scored 118 goals in 292 United appearances over six seasons.
Last season, his 29 Serie A goals were enough to earn him an Italian golden boot.
Since Ronaldo joined Juventus in 2018, only Robert Lewandowski (99), and Lionel Messi (91) have scored more goals than Ronaldo's 81 in Europe's top 5 leagues.
This is more than Harry Kane's Erling Braut Haialand or Kylian Mbappe.
However, his Champions League scoring was not as good at Juventus. In his seven previous seasons at Real, he had reached double figures, but only six, four, and four in the three years that he spent at Juve.
The trophies...
Ronaldo is the second most decorated European Cup/Champions League footballer with five wins, four at Real Madrid and one at Manchester United.
He also won the Ballon d'Or – for the best player worldwide - four times more since he won it at United.
He has managed just four league titles in the 11 years since he left United. While his defeat to Juventus in the Champions League will be viewed as a disappointment, there has not been a significant drop in the number of trophies he won at club level in his career.
He averaged more than one trophy per season over six years at Manchester United, including seven major ones in six seasons (including three Premier League titles in succession) and three minor ones.
It was eight major and eight minor competitions in nine years at Real Madrid.
He won three major trophies at Juventus and two smaller ones over the three years. Inter Milan ended their nine-year reign of champions last season.
Minor trophies are those you can win by winning a trophy (eg Community Shields, Super Cups or Fifa Club World Cups).
The assistance...
Ronaldo's game was always more about goals than assists, although he did set up many goals in La Liga (87 assists over nine seasons).
However, his assists have dwindled as he has become a more important number nine in recent years. The average league assist rate for his five previous seasons, two at Real and three with Juventus, was 5.4.
This is similar to his six seasons with United in the Premier League (5.67 assist per season).
Playstyle
Since his time at Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo has worked hard to build his body and end product.
Ronaldo's style has changed clearly over the years. He started at Manchester United as a thin winger with more style than substance.
He grew stronger and became a more dangerous goal threat, before becoming a key goalscorer for Real Madrid.
In his first years at Real, he was involved in a lot of passing and dribbling. However, he became more of an forward centre who wasn't involved in build up play.
During his three seasons with Juventus, that change was continued.
His dribbles have dropped from 10.9 per minute in the league during his second year with United to 5-6 during his peak Real years – and now 3.1 in all three of his previous seasons in Serie A.
His passes per 90-minute league game were 31.7, down from 40.7 in 2009-10.
Ronaldo takes fewer shots this season (5.4 per 90-minutes last season, compared to 7.8 at his peak), but it is still comparable with his United years.
What is the average time it takes to exercise your legs?
Ronaldo doesn't play in every game anymore, but he still manages more games than you might think.
In the two previous years, he played 33 times in Serie A. He also featured in 85% of Juventus' league matches during his time in Italy.
He managed 2,803 league hours last season, more than any of his six years at United.
