Cristiano Ronaldo: Man Utd prepare to welcome Portuguese 'home' after 'mind-boggling' first debut

[Animous]

Manchester United cannot be accused of underplaying Cristiano Ronaldo's return to Old Trafford against Newcastle this weekend - a match that will be broadcast exclusively in the UK on BBC radio.

Ronaldo landing in the UK. Ronaldo turning up for training. Ronaldo talking to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. United's media channels have squeezed every drop of content from the build-up to his second debut.

The massive 'Here We Belong' poster on the front of the stadium has been changed to incorporate a prominent image of Ronaldo. The front cover of the programme for Saturday's game is dedicated to the 36-year-old, including the words 'Welcome Home Cristiano Ronaldo'.

"The only thing I can compare it to was when Eric Cantona came back from his ban," says lifelong fan Andy Kilduff, co-founder of the Stretford End Flags group.

"We played Liverpool at home and there was all this 'does he start, is he coming off the bench, he has not played for months' - he almost came out of the tunnel completely on his own and Old Trafford erupted.

"How Ronaldo comes out of that tunnel against Newcastle will be pretty special. The love has always been there for him.

"When we played Real Madrid in 2013, even though he was wearing number seven and [stadium announcer] Alan Keegan was reading the teams out in number order, he left Ronaldo as the last player and said 'welcome back to Old Trafford'. That shows how special he is."

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A 'mind-boggling' debut

Eighteen years ago, the backdrop was different for Ronaldo's first Manchester United game.

The summer of 2003 had not been an easy one. David Beckham left for Real Madrid and a long-standing pursuit of Ronaldinho ended in failure as he joined Barcelona from Paris St-Germain.

Without the talented Brazilian, United's recruitment consisted of David Bellion, Eric Djemba-Djemba, Tim Howard and Kleberson. Only goalkeeper Howard would have any meaningful impact.

Ronaldo joined United for £12.24m, four days before the season opener against Bolton which the Red Devils won 4-0.

Although the 18-year-old was recognised as having immense potential, most of the debate around the deal concentrated on the fee, which made Ronaldo the most expensive teenager in British football. He could have left Sporting Lisbon for nothing 12 months later.

"We didn't know an awful lot about him," said Nicky Hunt, who was preparing to make his Premier League debut for Bolton. He was 19.

After 61 minutes, Bolton trailed 1-0 but United were unconvincing and the visitors had started to create a few chances.

"Alex Ferguson obviously thought 'I am not happy with this, I am going to have to bring on the best player in the world'," Hunt said.

"I had played a lot of reserves football against wingers and strikers. At that time, wingers were usually just head down, kick it, cross it. When he came on, my main focus was to smash him. I did it twice, the first two times he got the ball.

"He got annoyed, thought 'who's this?' and started turning it on. It was so hard. I was watching his feet, when I should have been watching the ball. It was mind-boggling at times.

"He had these stepovers, skills and tricks. Thierry Henry and Ryan Giggs did it but not that quick, not that fast and not as many times. It was continuous. He could use both feet and go past you both ways. It was hard watching him, the ball and his feet and your own legs because if they get crossed, you are falling over.

"I played against him five or six times overall and had a few torrid afternoons chasing after his number seven shirt."

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