Cristiano Ronaldo is looking to continue his fine goalscoring record for Manchester United by putting Aston Villa to the sword in their lunchtime Premier League clash on Saturday.
The 36-year old has instantly returned to the Red Devils form that earned his move back to Real Madrid in 2009. He scored four goals in each of his three matches this season.
Ronaldo has increased his club record to 122 goals in 295 matches. He could be the Premier League’s top scorer with a double against Dean Smith.
If he can hit the target once, he will surpass the record set by James Hanson in 1924 and match the Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku’s feat during his time at the club.
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Ronaldo could be the first post-war United arrival to score in his ‘first’ four matches for the club.
It is only his second spell. However, Ronaldo could match Hanson’s feat of scoring in four matches for the club 97 years ago. Lukaku had a penalty saved when he tried to do the same thing back in 2017.
Even though he is now in the final stages of his career, his former teammate and current manager has supported him to continue playing for at least four more years.
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said this week: “I wouldn’t be surprised if he still played when he was 40, not at all, because of the way he looks after himself.
“That’s the key to it – and of course some genes. There must also be genes, there must be DNA.
“He has put every single ounce of energy and effort into becoming the player he is and has been, so he deserves every single little plaudit that he gets for his physical state.
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“What’s more impressive is when you have achieved as much as he has, he’s still as hungry.
“His mentality is still absolutely spot-on and that’s a desire from inside that he’s going to keep going until his head says, ‘no, I’ve given everything now’.
“Hopefully it will last a few more years. Linford Christie was quite an age when he won his gold as well (Olympic 100m gold in 1992 at 32), so age is never a problem.”