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Former Manchester United star Owen Hargreaves has made a striking observation about Cristiano Ronaldo. The Englishman, who watched Ronaldo warm-up at Old Trafford from close quarters, pointed out that his former team-mate looks better than ever.
Just as Cristiano Ronaldo was putting himself through the paces ahead of the game against Newcastle, Hargreaves was pitchside for his broadcast duty. As soon as he could take a glance at the Manchester United forward, Hargreaves noticed the glaring changes from the Portuguese's first stint.
“He looks better from when we used to play together. He looks fitter and stronger. I know he’s 37 but he just looks like he hasn’t aged at all.”
Throughout the course of his warm-up, the Old Trafford crowd continued to erupt in noise to welcome back their prodigal son. Understandably, Manchester United have not experienced anything quite like this in the recent past.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been named in the starting line-up by Solskjaer, will be desperate to make an impression.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United shirt sales set record
Cristiano Ronaldo's decision to return to Manchester United has altered the dynamics in terms of jersey sales this summer. The Portuguese forward has generated a revenue of £187.1 million from jersey sales so far, which is almost twice the amount generated by his rival Lionel Messi at PSG.
Due to his staggering shirt sales, Manchester United have already recouped the full £12.9 million transfer fee paid upfront for Cristiano Ronaldo. Notably, the "Ronaldo 7" Manchester United jersey has also become the fastest selling shirt in Premier League history .
Manchester United also have the no.1 selling home shirt of the season, with 1/4th of the official merchandisers currently sold out or near to selling out. Online searches for the 'Ronaldo 7' shirt also increased by 600 per cent, compared to last summer's data.
