Champions League: Juventus' Ronaldo set to return to Manchester United

Ronaldo returns to Old Trafford as Juventus face off against Manchester United

Champions League: Juventus' Ronaldo set to return to Manchester United Juventus' Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo on a walkabout inside Old Trafford stadium in Manchester | AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo is all set to return to Old Trafford as Juventus face off against Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday. Ronaldo is back at United for the first time since 2013 when he scored for Real Madrid and took the club through to the Champions League quarterfinals.

Ronaldo, at a press conference, said that it would be a difficult game, but believes the Italian club will triumph when the two giants face each other. He said that he remembers what it was like when he was in United and the support he received at the club.

In his six years at United, the Portuguese forward lifted three Premier League titles, the FA Cup and two League Cups along with a Champions League title. Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 appearances. He inherited the iconic number seven jersey at United, and ever since his departure, the jersey is said to be “cursed” for all his successors, who have failed to impress at the club. Should Alexis Sanchez start against Juventus, Ronaldo will finally be up against a United number seven that has come closest to impressing the way he did, though still by a distance.

Ronaldo's most prolific season was the 2007-08 season, in which he scored 42 goals in all competitions and went on to become the first Manchester United player since George Best in 1968 to win the Ballon d'Or—the first of his five. In 2009, he left for Real Madrid for a then world record of GBP 80 million, where he dominated for the subsequent nine years.

Under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson, Ronaldo became a complete goal-scoring winger. On his return to Old Trafford this time, he paid his respects to his former coach, who is recovering from a brain haemorrhage. “Sir Alex Ferguson is someone I will never ever forget, someone who gave me a huge lift in my career and I would like to express my best possible wishes to him,” he told reporters.

The position is now held by another manager Ronaldo has worked under, Jose Mourinho, who coached Real Madrid from 2010-13. Though remembered for his stormy relationship with Madrid players, Ronaldo's compatriot oversaw one of Madrid's best ever league seasons, in 2011-12. The respect Ronaldo has for his Scottish mentor is many times more than what he holds for the eccentric Portuguese, who is seems to have lost the dressing room at United, just like he did in his last season at Madrid.

Mourinho will have his task cut out against Juventus, despite the absence of Mario Mandzukic, because Ronaldo is back to his old goal-scoring ways. Following his 100 million Euro transfer to Juve this summer, he took some time to get accustomed to his new surroundings, but has now scored five times in his last six games.