'Ronaldo has brought the sun to Manchester'

The Portuguese record-breaker's return has supplied everybody with a lift and Fred joked that the forward has even brought the sunshine with him to Carrington, following a spell of warm weather in the north west of England.

It is clear that his signing has provided a great deal of good vibes and positivity on the training pitch too – as Fred explained when providing a first full interview in English to MUTV's Stewart Gardner.

“It’s so good training with Cristiano,” said Fred. “He’s a very good guy and the best player, we know about [this], but we are so happy to have Cristiano here with us and I hope we can try to bring us any title for Manchester United.

“We know who Cristiano is because he likes to win. He pushes everyone, so you need to be good and you need to be at your best to be with Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s so good for us because, here, he pushes everyone and can win every game and every training [session]. It’s so important. He has a big mentality. He has a lot of titles so he has that big mentality and big goals, so it’s very important.”

When asked if Ronaldo was already looking sharp in training, the Brazilian replied: “Of course [laughs]. He is an amazing player and you know the difference when you look at Cristiano Ronaldo – with the ball, without the ball; in the gym, he works a lot. So it’s good for us. We are so happy for Cristiano to be here.

“He comes and brings the sun for us, so it’s good!”