Manchester United have listed 25 main players who will be included in the Europa League this season. There’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s name on it.
Ronaldo, now 37, last played in the event in October 2002, nearly 20 years ago. He was 17 years old at that time and defended Sporting CP.
Not much experience Ronaldo in the event that was formerly known as the UEFA Cup. After playing twice in the first round, Sporting were immediately eliminated 4-6 on aggregate at the hands of Partizan Belgrade.
After that, he never again felt the atmosphere of the second class competition between European clubs because he moved to MU, which used to regularly appear in the Champions League. He experienced the same thing when he was in uniform for Real Madrid and Juventus.
But Ronaldo is finally back in the Europa League, this time with Manchester United. After being reported as asking for a move in order to continue playing in the Champions League, he finally stayed at Old Trafford because no one wanted to sign him until the close of the transfer market.
Ronaldo’s name is listed in the team that Erik ten Hag is preparing to compete in the Europa League, along with the other main players of the Red Devils. Only Phil Jones and Brandon Williams were dropped from the list.
Anthony Elanga is not on the list of main players, but it is certain that he can still play. That’s because he is a club coached status and is still under 21 years old. Facundo Pellistri and Alejandro Garnacho are also not yet 21 years old, but because they are not the club’s players, they need to be registered as main players.
Manchester United are in Group E with Real Sociedad (Spain), Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova), and Omonia Nicosia (Cyprus). The Red Devils are predicted to qualify for the last 16 with the status of group winners.
List of Manchester United’s 25 main players for the 2022-23 Europa League group stage:
Kiper: David De Gea, Martin Dubravka, Tom Heaton.
Bek: Diogo Dalot, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Tyrell Malacia, Lysandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Axel Tuanzebe, Raphael Varane, Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Midfielder: Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, Fred, Scott McTominay, Facundo Pellistri, Jadon Sancho, Donny van de Beek.
Attacker: Antony, Alexander Grenache, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Cristiano Ronaldo.
(adp/pur)
