Pellistri: Ronaldo number link makes it special

The Manchester United winger is the latest Red in the hotseat for our Fans' Q&A feature, in association with Melitta, and he fielded a number of questions from supporters from countries spanning the entire globe.

His first poser was about why he chose his shirt number and the Uruguay international admitted when he found out Cristiano Ronaldo made his senior debut for Sporting in the same one, it showed it was the ideal option.

Responding to the question from Ellen R. in Australia, he said: "Well, thanks Ellen. Well because, when I came here to Manchester, I was playing in Penarol and I had the no.10. So the two plus the eight, they sum up to 10. So that’s why I take it. And, later, I realised that number was the one Ronaldo also made his debut in and all that. So, for me, that number is very special."

Ronaldo wore no.28 too when breaking through in Lisbon and adorned that jersey when he made the famous appearance in the pre-season friendly against Sir Alex Ferguson's United back in 2003, soon before clinching his move to Old Trafford. 

Pellistri wears no.8 or no.11 when representing his country, with his excellent work at international level helping Marcelo Bielsa's side beat both Argentina and Brazil in World Cup qualifying and rise to second in the South American standings with six games played on the road to the 2026 finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The hard-working wide man came off the bench at Liverpool last weekend to make his eighth Premier League appearance of the campaign. He also played three times in the UEFA Champions League, including starting in the away tie at Bayern Munich, and played the full 90 minutes of the Carabao Cup third-round win over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.

Next up is Saturday's league encounter at West Ham United, kicking off at 12:30 GMT.

Look out for the full Fans' Q&A with Facundo, in association with Melitta, coming soon across our official channels.