Fergie: If he turns up, you expect problems

Jose Mourinho believes the world will stop to watch when Cristiano Ronaldo makes an emotional return to Old Trafford tonight but Manchester United’s players have been warned by their own manager not to fear him as they seek to knock Real Madrid out of the Champions League.

Ronaldo hasn’t played against his former team since leaving for Spain in 2009 and is guaranteed a hero’s reception from the fans, who never stopped worshipping him as he finally returns ‘home’.

All the pre-match hype for the last-16 tie, which stands at 1-1 following a first leg draw in Madrid, has been about the Portuguese winger who cost Real €100 million and has become one the world’s greatest players; and some of those flames have been fanned by Alex Ferguson himself, who has never hidden his admiration for a player he signed from Sporting Lisbon.