CRISTIANO RONALDO will wear the No 7 shirt on his return to Manchester United.
The Red Devils have confirmed Ronaldo will be reunited with the legendary number he wore in his first spell.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side asked the Premier League to allow a shirt change and now Ronaldo replaces Edinson Cavani, who switches to 21 — the number he wears for Uruguay — after Daniel James left for Leeds.
Ron said: “I wasn’t sure if it would be possible to have the No 7 shirt again, so I would like to say a huge thank you to Edi for his incredible gesture.”
Seven is a special number in United’s history with club greats George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham all donning it.
And the Red Devils can look forward to witnessing Ronaldo back in his shirt at their home ground when he makes his second debut versus Newcastle on September 11.
Tickets for the game have been flouted online for thousands of pounds.
Yet the lengthy queues at the Old Trafford shop may leave some fans disappointed.
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Adidas are facing an untimely shortage of replica shirts.
The Independent claims the issue is ‘due to Covid-influenced delays in Adidas’ supply line’ amid Ronaldo’s return.
They had already experienced a significant slowdown in production due to the closure of factories in Vietnam – which could cause a potentially four-month delay.
The Asian nation normally contributes 28 per cent of Adidas’ total production.
The sports manufacturer, on a £750million ten-year deal with United, had made a contingency but the report claims that Ronaldo’s comeback has changed the situation – with a drop-off now expected.
Ronaldo was given the green light to join up with his new Man Utd team-mates on Thursday after being banned for Portugal’s next World Cup qualifier.
Ronaldo became the all-time top men’s international goalscorer with his stunning ‘Fergie Time’ winner to break Ireland’s hearts in the 2-1 triumph on Wednesday night.
But the history-maker, who beat Iran’s Ali Daei’s record to move on to an incredible 111 goals, was booked for taking off his shirt in celebration and will miss the qualifier in Azerbaijan on Tuesday.
A Portugal Football Federation statement read: “Cristiano Ronaldo was excused from the stage of the national team this Thursday.
“The yellow card seen against Ireland, being the second in this stage of qualification, forces him to fulfil an official game of suspension.”
Ronaldo completed his shock move back to Old Trafford from Juventus on deadline day and is in line to make his second debut for the Red Devils against Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday week.
Reports in Portugal claimed that Ronaldo, 36, would have to spend five days in quarantine.
But UK rules state that he will just have to have a booked day two PCR test after his arrival in the country if he is vaccinated, or spend ten days in quarantine if not.
There have been no suggestions from United so far that Ronaldo has to do the full ten-day stint meaning he would be free to be involved against Steve Bruce’s Newcastle.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
