“I was celebrating” – Manchester United legend reveals he was “running around like crazy” after Cristiano Ronaldo's return

Manchester United's legendary goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has admitted to being extremely happy when he learned that Cristiano Ronaldo would be returning to Old Trafford.

Schmeichel has also praised Ronaldo's attitude by stating that he is a person who eats, sleeps and drinks football all the time.

Speaking on the Seaman Says Podcast (via the Daily Mail), the former Manchester United shot-stopper said:

"This is what Ronaldo gives. I was celebrating when I heard he was returning, running around like crazy in my garden even though I can't run. But I did."

"This is what he brings," he added. "He is 36, getting to 37 now, but he looks chiselled and we saw that when he scored that late goal in Europe the other week. He is fantastically fit and the reason he is because he takes his football so seriously. He eats, sleeps, drinks and trains football, his whole life is about that."

The 57-year-old is convinced the five-time Ballon d'Or winner will have the same impact on youngsters at Manchester United as Eric Cantona had on him.

"I remember when Eric came, he infused something different into our dressing room or into the whole character of the club because he was different, he did things in a different way," Schmeichel said. "Before you knew it, some of the younger players were starting to do that and they were still developing."

"The last bit, came from Eric and that made them just a tiny bit different to other players they were up against in their positions," he added. "It is the same with Cristiano."

Peter Schmeichel wants Jadon Sancho to learn from Cristiano Ronaldo whilst at Manchester United

Peter Schmeichel wants new Manchester United signing Jadon Sancho to learn from someone like Cristiano Ronaldo in the dressing room.

The former United goalkeeper believes Sancho could be a great player for around 10-12 years if he learns from Ronaldo.

"It's a big, big, big price tag for him and it feels a bit heavy for him at the moment," Schmeichel said. "But he will look at this guy [Ronaldo] and he can say, 'If I do something along those lines, I can be as good as him. I have all the basics, but I can be as good as him.' That might take him two, three years to catch on to that but that then gives him maybe ten, 12 years after that."

Jadon Sancho is a £73 million signing from Borussia Dortmund. However, the 21-year-old winger hasn't settled nicely at Manchester United so far. Sancho has yet to register a single goal or assist in 10 appearances so far this season.

Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, has scored five goals in just seven appearances for Manchester United.