United bang in title race with Ronaldo

THE reaction from Manchester United’s crop of promising youngsters told the watching world of football all it needed to know about Cristiano Ronaldo’s return.

Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and the rest went public with their exclamations of astonishment as they greeted the news that the game’s biggest winker had returned to Old Trafford.

Is he the greatest of all time? I’m in his camp, rather than Lionel Messi’s – but it’s a bar-room discussion for another day.

In the here and now, it is his value to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that must be measured. And it was telling that the Norwegian appeared for his pre-match press conference early on Friday afternoon, answering every question with a grin.

He knew what was coming.

Now, Manchester United might not have been able to sign Ronaldo at the peak of his powers. In fact, they lost him at the peak of his powers.

But the fact is that ever since he left for Real Madrid no single

signing has come close to capturing the imagination, and being able to spread the stardust on that Old Trafford pitch, like Ronaldo has.

He is older. The legs will not be as quick. But the footballing brain remains sharp and the desire to build on a legacy that was already assured can be taken as a given.

Simply, he is a winner.

Manchester United are bang in the title race.

And for the rest of us, the Premier League just got a

whole lot more interesting.

JUDE BELLINGHAM has already achieved plenty as a footballer. As a human being he is emerging as a rare breed too.

As part of his studies while at Birmingham City, the youngster took a keen interest in social work. There were rumours too that he was starting a foundation to look after under-privileged kids.

This week, footage emerged of him handing over his Borussia Dortmund shirt, unprompted, to a disabled supporter after defeat in the German Super Cup. The joy on the recipient’s face was life-affirming.

Bellingham only turned 18 two months ago. It’s one thing to be a star on the pitch. It says far more that he’s turning into a star off it too.