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    Soccer News: Ronaldo fits directly into the starting eleven of Man Utd for the second debut with Cavani absent

    Cristiano Ronaldo made his second debut for Manchester United after being named in their starting XI for Newcastle United’s visit on Saturday.

    The five-time Ballon d’Or winner completed his return to the club when he joined Juventus two weeks ago for an initial £ 12.9m (€ 15m) on a two-year contract with the option. by a third.

    After getting permission to leave Portugal early and serving a period of solitary confinement, Ronaldo first showed up at United’s training ground on Tuesday.

    He began training with his new teammates the next day and is now ready to play his first Premier League match since May 2009, the longest gap between appearances in the competition’s history.

    United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed on Friday that Ronaldo would at least play as a substitute, but with Edinson Cavani – who allowed the Portugal captain to take the number seven jersey – absent, the 36-year-old seemed inevitable.

    Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 games in his first stint at United, which lasted six years before moving to Real Madrid in 2009.

    Despite that return in front of goal, the Portugal captain only scored a hat-trick in that previous period – coincidentally, it came against Saturday’s opponents Newcastle in January 2008.

    It’s fair to say that Ronaldo got into the habit of treble in the 12 years after leaving Old Trafford, sacking 44 to Real Madrid and three to Juventus: longtime rival Lionel Messi has 46 since the club’s first hat-trick of the product. Sporting CP.

    Obviously, Ronaldo’s reliability from the spot helped his goal tally, with his 84 spot kicks since August 2009 being 31 more than any other player (Messi, 53) in the top five European leagues.

    This could affect Bruno Fernandes’ numbers, as he has been United’s regular player since joining from Sporting last year, missing only one of 22 attempts.

    However, United fans will be eager to see Portugal’s two teammates unite for the first time at club level, and Fernandes will be the main threat to support Ronaldo in attack, while Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho may pose a threat from the flanks.

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