FORMER Premier League striker Chris Sutton doesn’t think Cristiano Ronaldo makes Manchester United title contenders.
The one-cap England man believes Romelu Lukaku is the ‘most influential’ signing of the summer, rather than the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
In an article for the MailOnline, Sutton writes that Ronaldo’s signing benefits Manchester United commercially, rather than in terms of winning trophies.
He said: “Re-signing Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t make Manchester United title contenders.”
The 48-year-old former Chelsea striker believes Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool are better equipped to challenge for the Premier League title this season.
Sutton won the Premier League trophy once himself, helping Blackburn Rovers to their only title in the historic 1994-95 season.
He went on to play 38 times for Chelsea between 1999 and 2000, but after scoring just twice for the Blues he moved on to Scottish side Celtic.
And Sutton took his comments on 36-year-old Ronaldo further, saying: “But I think this can only go one of two ways. It’ll either be an unwanted sideshow or an absolute success.”
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The BT pundit labelled Ronaldo’s return as ‘romantic as hell’ but has doubts on whether CR7 can still perform at the highest level.
That’s after Juventus failed to progress further than the Champions League last-sixteen during Ronaldo’s time there, with the Turin club only qualifying for the competition itself on the final day of last season by a single point.
And Chris Sutton is not the only pundit who isn’t convinced by Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford.
Paul Merson told Sky Sports he doesn’t feel the signing is enough for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side to win a first Premier League title since the 2012=13 season.
When asked how close Ronaldo is now to what he was in his peak, Merson said: “I’d go as far as nowhere near, nowhere near.”
The ex-Arsenal man went on to say: “Will he win the league for Manchester United?
“I’m going to say no, no I’m going to say no.”
Ronaldo is expected to make his second Manchester United debut on September 11 against Newcastle United.
That’s after he completed a medical in Portugal’s capital Lisbon yesterday according to Sky Sports News ahead of putting pen to paper on a two-year deal with the option of a 12-month extension.
He’s set to become the Premier League’s highest paid player, signing a contract worth £480,000 per week.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
