The Europa League play-off draw has given Cristiano Ronaldo the opportunity to finally score for Manchester United against Barcelona.
The attacker was a constant threat for Real Madrid when they played at the Nou Camp, but not for Manchester United.
Following Barcelona’s exit from the Champions League, they are one of the favourites to now succeed in the Europa League.
However, they come up against United – who also have hopes of winning their first trophy under Erik ten Hag.
The talk in the build-up to the match will largely centre around Frenkie de Jong after the Barca star rejected the chance to join United over the summer – despite the best wishes of both clubs involved in the move.
However, the underlying storyline will be how Ronaldo can break his duck against Barcelona whilst wearing a United shirt.
The Portugal forward lined up against the Catalan club three times during his first stint with the Red Devils but failed to find the back of the net – though that was the case overall as United failed to score in all three matches.
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Ronaldo was a constant nuisance for Barca when he moved to Real Madrid though, also scoring twice against them for Juventus more recently.
The last time Ronaldo played Barcelona 👀 pic.twitter.com/mffZts8O9q
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 7, 2022
The 37-year-old has 20 goals in 34 appearances against the club and will be hoping to add to that tally in the Europa League.
Ronaldo’s contract at United expires at the end of the season and it is hard to imagine he will extend his stay at the club beyond that unless there is a drastic turn of events.
Perhaps, winning a trophy would be that, sparked by a victory over Barca in the Europa League.
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