Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hailed Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘immense’ impact since rejoining Manchester United during the summer transfer window.
Ronaldo returned to the club during the summer after signing from Juventus, more than a decade after his departure to Real Madrid in a world-record transfer.
The 36-year-old has began the season in superb form with nine goals in 11 appearances for the Red Devils, including a brilliant brace – the second a stoppage-time equaliser – to secure a draw with Atalanta in the Champions League in midweek.
Ronaldo has already shown his penchant for rescuing the side in crucial moments and Solskjaer has been delighted with the impact of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“He’s one of the best players that has ever walked on this planet,” Solskjaer told his pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend’s Manchester derby.
“His impact had been immense. He scores goals, he works for his team. He’s a top professional. How people can say that’s a negative, I can’t see that one.
๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐โฆ and we will do everything to achieve our goals! We are RED DEVILS ๐ช๐ฝ #MUFC #championsleague pic.twitter.com/gqWduRwEjl
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) November 2, 2021
“We’re really pleased he has started as well as he has. He is a top, top professional.”
United players were pictured out for a team-bonding meal at an Italian restaurant in Hale on Thursday evening, a get-together reportedly organised by the United number 7.
Solskjaer has emphasised the importance of ‘team spirit’ and hopes the bonding of the players can lead to an upturn in fortunes as his squad bid to navigate a challenging period.
“The team is very close together and they know they need each other, it’s team bonding and the team spirit is important,” he said. “We’ve got a great canteen up here but are probably fed up with Mike’s food.”
