"Manchester United hasn't recovered since he left" - Fans react as stat involving Cristiano Ronaldo's stint at Old Trafford surfaces

Fans on X (formerly Twitter) have reacted to a mind-blowing statistic invloving Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United. A recent post by ESPN UK revealed that the former United ace is still the last player to net a free-kick for the Red Devils.

Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford in 2021 after stints with Real Madrid and Juventus. In his second spell with the Red Devils, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner proved to be one of the club's best players of all-time. He came up clutch for United on multiple occasions, literally carrying the team on his shouldrs before falling out with Erik ten Hag a year later.

In the 2021-22 season, the 39-year-old registered an impressive 24 goals and three assists in 39 games. Two of his most notable perfromances that season were scoring hattricks in the league games against Tottenham Hotspur and Norwich. Against the Canaries, Ronaldo bagged his 15th goal of the season off a direct freekick.

It's been over two years since the Portugese ace left the club, and no Manchester United player has been able to find the net directly from a free-kick in that period. This incredible statistic underscores how lethal Ronaldo was for the club, and fans were quick to react.

One fan wrote that Manchester United have not been the same since Ronaldo left:

"Manchester united hasn't recovered since he left."

Another fan said mocked Bruno Fernandes who is the Red Devils' current designated freekick taker, stating that the statistic won't sit well with him:

"Bruno won't like this."

A third fan lauded Cristiano Ronaldo as the gretaest of all-time, writing:

"The greatest there was, the greatest there is, the greatest there ever will."

Check out a few more reactions to the statistic below:

"Ronaldo is always the last player in everything," one fan wrote.

"Don't say it out loudly," said another.

Cristiano Ronaldo's overall numbers for Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably Manchester United's greatest player of all-time. The Portugal international first joined the Red Devils in 2003 from boyhood club Sporting CP. He would go on to win three Premier League tiltles, the FA Cup, UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup.

In 2008, after registering 42 goals and eight assists in 49 games, and leading the club to a double (Premier League & Champions League), he won his first-ever Ballon d'Or. Ronaldo left Old Trafford in 2009, signing for Real Madrid for a then world record fee of £80 million.

His return to Manchester United in 2021 still stands as one of the most iconic transfers of the 21st century. The announcemnt of his second spell garnered massive reactions across social media. In 346 games across both spells, Cristiano Ronaldo scored 145 goals and provided 64 assists for the Red Devils.