Ronaldo recently completed a sensational return to Manchester United and Irwin believes the Portuguese star will only improve the Red Devils this season.
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Former Manchester United defender Denis Irwin praised new summer signing Cristiano Ronaldo, calling him a “top striker”. Despite Ronaldo being 36 years of age, Irwin believes the Portuguese star is getting better with age. Towards the end of the summer window, Ronaldo completed a sensational return to Manchester United and Irwin believes the star forward will only improve the Red Devils this soon. It was 12 years after he left for Real Madrid and 18 years since he was originally brought to the club by Sir Alex. Ronaldo continues to be a threat for the opponents even at this age, with regularly scoring goals for his previous club (Juventus in Serie A) or his national team.
The Portuguese skipper broke the world record for goals scored in men’s international football by netting his 110th and 111th goals for his country in a World Cup qualifying win. Cristiano Ronaldo went into Portugal’s game against Republic of Ireland in Faro as the joint record-holder with Iran’s Ali Daei, on 109. Later in the match, he pulled clear by heading home an 89th-minute equaliser. The former Real Madrid forward then made it 111 strikes in the final seconds to give Portugal a dramatic come from behind win. Notably, Ronaldo also won the Golden Boot award at Euro 2020.
Denis Irwin believes Cristiano Ronaldo will be a threat even at 36 years of age. “I think everybody knows that he is a fantastic goalscorer, he always has been and he always will be, and he is getting better and better in that respect,” Denis told Sky Sports News. “People might question him because he is 36 but he has really looked after himself, you can tell that.
“I know Mother Nature catches up with you, I know the Premier League is the most physical league in the world for me, it is 90 minutes of pace, and he is not the same type of player he was going back to when he first joined United, in the first part of his career, but he will certainly score goals in the Premier League this season and I think the United fans are excited about him coming over.
“We remember he gave six great years, he went from being a boy to a man and he has gone on to do great things at Real Madrid and Juventus, with different techniques and different qualities in each league. He knows the Premier League and I think United fans are so looking forward to it, and I think you saw that with the support at the game away to Wolves last Sunday.”
While 55-year-old Irwin might have been disappointed with the way his national team, Republic of Ireland, lost to Portugal on Wednesday, but he still praised Cristiano Ronaldo’s efforts on the night.
“Well he is six foot two,” said Irwin. “He came to United, you are going back a long time to 2003, as a gangly winger who grew into the game and you can see he went from a kind of player who would take players on quite a bit and, over the years, has become more of a goalscorer I suppose.
“He is a very, very clever player, a fantastic player, who is so good in the air. Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep him out last night and they were two fantastic headers, they really were and particularly the first one. It is a centre-forward’s goal, it is a header, he knows where the space is, his connection is fantastic and I think all centre-forwards would appreciate the quality of those goals.
“You have seen he has been the Serie A top goalscorer in the last couple of years and the Golden Boot winner at Euro 2020, so it shows that he is a top striker and he is going to add to what United have got up front, he certainly is.”
