Man Utd owner gets Cristiano Ronaldo fact wrong during inspirational speech

The American businessman got his facts wrong when using Manchester United’s iconic number 7 as a reference point to talk about the motivation behind every elite athlete

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Man Utd fans burn USA flag in protest against Glazers

Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer has been left red-faced after getting his Cristiano Ronaldo trivia wrong while addressing athletes at his old university campus in Tulane, Louisiana.

Avram, along with brother Joel, have long been elusive figures to the Manchester United faithful who rarely speak to the fanbase or the media.

While Joel held two fan forums via video call in a bid to ease relations after the fall-out of the European Super League proposals – Avram remained, for the most part, silent.

He has since broken his silence to young athletes back in his home country, giving the American football team a rallying speech designed to motivate them by using elite sportspeople as points of reference.

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“To be good and to win, is not easy, there are a lot of good athletes and it is very competitive,” Glazer explained.

The 61-year-old New York native went on to cite the likes of Tom Brady and United’s very own star in Ronaldo as examples of the kind of dedication required to make it to the top of your craft.

However, Glazer made one huge glaring error in his speech surrounding Ronaldo’s original arrival first time around back in 2003.

The United co-owner said: “Cristiano Ronaldo joined us when he was 16 years old – from the day he joined Manchester United, he was the first person at practice and the last person to leave practice.

“Great athletes are not just born great but they have to work extra hard and they try their best, you have to be as focused as possible and try to achieve what you can achieve.”

While the sentiments are indeed accurate in Ronaldo’s case, what isn’t is Glazer’s claim that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner joined the club aged 16.

The reality is that Ronaldo actually put pen to paper on his first Man Utd contract at the age of 18 back in August of 2003.

He spent six years at Old Trafford before upping sticks to Real Madrid in 2009, but not before he secured the first of his five Ballon d’Ors in the famous red of United during the 2007/08 campaign.

After twelve years away including a three year stint at Serie A giant Juventus, Ronaldo sealed a triumphant return to the club this summer and has enjoyed a stellar return.

The 36-year-old has notched nine goals in 12 games for the club, including a number of last gasp Champions League goals to ensure United can still progress from their group.