Jose Mourinho may have got a mixed reception at his old club Chelsea at the weekend, but Cristiano Ronaldo should have no doubts about going back to Old Trafford when Juventus take on Manchester United in the Uefa Champions League on Tuesday.
Ronaldo remains the best player most current United fans have ever seen play for their team. In his six seasons in Manchester between 2003-2009, the Portuguese went from being an 18 year old of immense potential to the best in the world as United were crowned English, European and world champions in 2008. Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 games. His 42 goals in 2007/08 included 31 Premier League goals, the highest for a United player in the English top flight in 47 years.
It's not the first time he has been back. Ronaldo received a standing ovation on his last visit with Real Madrid in 2013. It's unlikely to be quite so ecstatic on Tuesday, since United fans aren't feeling as pleased about their team under Mourinho as they were that year under Alex Ferguson, Ronaldo another reminder of United's fall from grace.
Ronaldo's annual flirtations with a move back to Old Trafford during Real Madrid contract renewals also tired United fans. The boy had cried wolf too many times and they simply didn't believe he would ever re-sign. But even Ferguson was convinced that he was coming back in 2013 that he told his players. In the event, Ronaldo stayed in Madrid and Ferguson stepped down. The club haven't been close to greatness since.
Had United not sold Ronaldo to Madrid for a then world-record transfer of £80 million (Dh294m), the club which reached three European Cup finals in four years between 2008-2011 would have been significantly better. But Ronaldo was always clear about his wish to play for Madrid and United fans were fortunate he was at Old Trafford for so long. By the end, Johan Cruyff opined: “Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law.” He was the first United player to be crowned European player of the year since the days of United’s holy trinity of Best, Law and Bobby Charlton.
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Read more:
Andy Mitten: Mata takes his chance as Manchester United make a point at Chelsea
Premier League team of the week: Mahrez and Martial in
Ian Hawkey: Juventus will see up close who got the better end of Paul Pogba's move to Manchester United
In pictures: Cristiano Ronaldo trains with Juventus ahead of Manchester United return
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There will be plenty of renditions of "Viva Ronaldo", a song which took off on the run to winning the Champions League title in Moscow in 2008. “Running down the wing, hear United sing, Viva Ronaldo,” chorused the 2,800 United fans on a warm spring night in Rome after he had put his side ahead in the quarter-final with a magnificent header. Many United fans had previously avoided making too strong an emotional attachment to Ronaldo. His self-confidence could be taken for arrogance, his posturing pretentious. And there was always the (justified) fear that he wanted to leave. But by 2008, he had won everyone over, not least the hard-to-please Milanese press who, after AC Milan had brushed past United a year earlier, asked “Why is there such hype about Cristiano Ronaldo?” and “We knew he was style over substance, but there wasn’t even any style.”
United haven’t had the world's best player at Old Trafford since, despite the club claiming that they can match any club in terms of transfer fees and wages. United won the Premier League in each of Ronaldo's final three seasons at the club but failed to do so in the one that followed his departure. It is impossible to replace Ronaldo, but United fans hoped for better signings than Michael Owen, Gabriel Obertan, Antonio Valencia and Mame Biram Diouf. Only Valencia would prove a long-term success.
Ronaldo joined Juventus this year to help them win the Champions League, a competition they have reached the final of twice in the past four years. Ronaldo’s Madrid beat them in the 2018 final, and in buying Madrid’s best player they hoped to deny their Spanish counterparts his talent and boost their own cause. Madrid already miss his goals.
Juventus are leaders and favourites of a tough Group H which also includes Valencia and Young Boys. Lots of former United players will attend the game to see their former teammate, but United must avoid what happened the last time Ronaldo visited – a 2-1 defeat. He can soak up the deserved applause again, but, United supporters hope, not as a victorious player.
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The nine articles of the 50-Year Charter
1. Dubai silk road
2. A geo-economic map for Dubai
3. First virtual commercial city
4. A central education file for every citizen
5. A doctor to every citizen
6. Free economic and creative zones in universities
7. Self-sufficiency in Dubai homes
8. Co-operative companies in various sectors
9: Annual growth in philanthropy
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%3Cp%3EEtihad%20Airways%20operates%20seasonal%20flights%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi%20to%20Nice%20C%C3%B4te%20d'Azur%20Airport.%20Services%20depart%20the%20UAE%20on%20Wednesdays%20and%20Sundays%20with%20outbound%20flights%20stopping%20briefly%20in%20Rome%2C%20return%20flights%20are%20non-stop.%20Fares%20start%20from%20Dh3%2C315%2C%20flights%20operate%20until%20September%2018%2C%202022.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20Radisson%20Blu%20Hotel%20Nice%20offers%20a%20western%20location%20right%20on%20Promenade%20des%20Anglais%20with%20rooms%20overlooking%20the%20Bay%20of%20Angels.%20Stays%20are%20priced%20from%20%E2%82%AC101%20(%24114)%2C%20including%20taxes.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Liverpool's all-time goalscorers
Ian Rush 346
Roger Hunt 285
Mohamed Salah 250
Gordon Hodgson 241
Billy Liddell 228
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
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%3Cp%3EChris%20Jordan%20insists%20Sanchit%20Sharma%20will%20make%20an%20impact%20on%20the%20ILT20%2C%20despite%20him%20starting%20the%20campaign%20on%20Gulf%20Giants'%20bench.%3Cbr%3EThe%20young%20UAE%20seamer%20was%20an%20instant%20success%20for%20the%20side%20last%20season%2C%20and%20remained%20part%20of%20the%20XI%20as%20they%20claimed%20the%20title.%3Cbr%3EHe%20has%20yet%20to%20feature%20this%20term%20as%20the%20Giants%20have%20preferred%20Aayan%20Khan%20and%20Usman%20Khan%20as%20their%20two%20UAE%20players%20so%20far.%3Cbr%3EHowever%2C%20England%20quick%20Jordan%20is%20sure%20his%20young%20colleague%20will%20have%20a%20role%20to%20play%20at%20some%20point.%3Cbr%3E%22Me%20and%20Sanchit%20have%20a%20great%20relationship%20from%20last%20season%2C%22%20Jordan%20said.%3Cbr%3E%22Whenever%20I%20am%20working%20with%20more%20inexperienced%20guys%2C%20I%20take%20pleasure%20in%20sharing%20as%20much%20as%20possible.%3Cbr%3E%22I%20know%20what%20it%20was%20like%20when%20I%20was%20younger%20and%20learning%20off%20senior%20players.%3Cbr%3E%22Last%20season%20Sanchit%20kick-started%20our%20season%20in%20Abu%20Dhabi%20with%20a%20brilliant%20man-of-the-match%20performance.%3Cbr%3E%22Coming%20into%20this%20one%2C%20I%20have%20seen%20a%20lot%20of%20improvement.%20The%20focus%20he%20is%20showing%20will%20only%20stand%20him%20in%20good%20stead.%22%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Scoreline
Swansea 2
Grimes 20' (pen), Celina, 29'
Man City 3
Silva 69', Nordfeldt 78' (og), Aguero 88'
Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Group B
Bayern Munich v Tottenham, midnight (Thursday)
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20S23%20ULTRA
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Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
