‘Man Utd believe they have the next Cristiano Ronaldo’

Robin Bairner

• 26 Feb 2024 06:44 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United feel that they have a player in their ranks who can match the achievements of Cristiano Ronaldo during his career.

The Red Devils signed Ronaldo from Sporting CP but he became a superstar at Old Trafford, where Sir Alex Ferguson really set the Portugal international on his way to becoming a five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

The forward would go on to enjoy legendary status as Real Madrid and set records at Juventus before blazing a trail to the Saudi Pro League.

In Alejandro Garnacho, Man Utd evidently feel that they have a player of similar stature to Ronaldo, even if the 19-year-old has several levels to step up in order to match the achievements of his predecessor.

Speaking on the Footballer's Football Podcast, host Rickie Haywood-Williams said: “People are saying that they reckon Garnacho is going to be...”

Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney interjected: “What, like the next Cristiano?”

Haywood-Williams then said: “That's what they have been saying, that's what I've been hearing.

“We can't predict these things but from the murmurings I'm hearing coming out of Old Trafford, they are saying that he has the potential to go to that level.”

Can Garnacho become the next Ronaldo?

Data analytics experts SciSports believe that Garnacho can become a key player for Manchester United in the future, and in this sense, the Madrid-born winger could emulate Ronaldo.

Equally, though, the analysis that is used, which is based upon hundreds of in-game data points, suggests that Garnacho will not come close to the standard of Ronaldo at his peak.

Rather, he will be able to develop into a player more akin to Bruno Fernandes, who has been a leader at Man Utd since he arrived at the club from Sporting CP in January 2020.

Garnacho’s Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) is €30 million.