Cristiano Ronaldo to take penalties off Bruno Fernandes at Man Utd as Rio Ferdinand backs old team-mate to pull rank

CRISTIANO RONALDO will take Manchester United penalty duties from Bruno Fernandes, according to former team-mate Rio Ferdinand.

Fernandes has a great record from the spot, netting 21 times from 12 yards for the Red Devils.

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But Ferdinand, 42, fully expects Ronaldo to pull rank over his Portuguese compatriot after joining from Juventus.

He told his YouTube channel: "I think Bruno gives up penalties but doesn’t relinquish free-kicks and corners.

"The free-kicks around the box, he’s going to be on them I think. I think his record demands that he should do that.

"He (Ronaldo) takes the penalties, 100 per cent.

"They agree to give him the penalties but I think free-kicks around the box, Bruno’s just wiping the ball down and putting it down."

Ferdinand also believes that Fernandes will be fine with giving up penalty duties, as he'll see the bigger picture.

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He added: "I think Bruno sees the bigger picture, that this guy can get us over the line to win us trophies.

"If that means my percentage of goal involvements goes down but he gets his hands on a big trophy, he’d take that all day long."

An incredible 21 of Fernandes' 43 goals for United have come from he penalty spot since joining the club in January 2020 - a staggering 49 per cent.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo also knows all about taking penalties for United, having done so during his previous stint.

Of his 118 goals for the Red Devils between 2003 and 2009, CR7 bagged 17 times from the spot.

Fernandes has the greater conversion rate since, 2017, however, having bagged 25 of his 26 spot kicks dating back to his time with Sporting.

In the same time period, Ronaldo has bagged 26 of 31 - giving him a conversion rate of 83.87 per cent - lower than Fernandes' 96.15 per cent.

And when it comes to free-kicks, Fernandes is even more supreme.

United's attacking midfielder has scored five of 58 attempts in the same time frame, scoring 8.62 per cent of the time.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, has scored just ONCE in 67 attempts since the start of the 2017-18 season - giving him an awful conversion rate of 1.49 per cent.

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