Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most accomplished professional footballers in the history of the sport.
13.03.2022 - 13:15 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Premier League-winning defender Wes Brown has highlighted the importance of Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United.
The 37-year-old has been under the microscope since his return to the English top-flight following his switch from Juventus as some pundits and fans-alike try to direct criticism towards the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. Despite this, he has been instrumental for United and without him, the Reds have won just 20 per cent of their matches.
In Europe, Ronaldo was a key influence in booking their place in the knockout stages after scoring in all five of his Champions League appearances, including match-winning moments against Atalanta and Villarreal as well as a point-saving brace in Bergamo.
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"Personally, I was glad to see him come back to United," the ex-United defender explained, speaking to Insider. "Yes, he is an older player now, so he plays a lot different to when United first had him.
"He was a lot more attacking, running at players, taking players on, whereas now he's more of a goal scorer. We've not had the best of seasons in general and that's every player, and I think when the team has dipped a little bit, he's suffered as well.
"But that's football, and Ronaldo will possibly go down as, if not the greatest, one or two, either him or Messi, to ever play the game, if you look at how many they've scored, the games they've played and what they've won. He's a great asset to Manchester United, and hopefully, we don't know what's going to happen next season, but hopefully, he tries to continue that."
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