Sir Bobby Charlton believes winger Cristiano Ronaldo can face down his critics in England.
Sir Bobby Charlton believes under-fire winger Cristiano Ronaldo has made the right choice by staying in England to face down his critics.The young Portuguese trickster courted controversy for his theatrics at this summer's World Cup and was consequently lambasted by the English tabloid press.
Three Lions golden boy Wayne Rooney initially expressed disappointment at his Manchester United team-mate's involvement in the red card when the nations met in the competition's quarter final.
But the pair have since made their peace and Charlton is backing Ronaldo to win over his critics, after the player returned to training with United on Tuesday.
"Cristiano realises he has made a mistake, which he will have to pay for," Charlton explained.
"I am sure the fans will have a little go at him at the start of the season.
"He is only a young lad. He is inexperienced and doesn't know a lot about the game. But he will come back better because of this.
"It is going to be tricky for him at the beginning but he is a great player and that is what people should focus on."
The Red Devils faced a similar prospect when a young David Beckham returned to the North West after being sent off in England's World Cup exit to Argentina eight years ago.
Beckham was vilified for his petulance at the time, but the Old Trafford faithful stuck by their star amidst security threats and abuse from opposition fans.
And England's all-time leading goalscorer Charlton is happy to have the 21-year-old Ronaldo back in Manchester after persistent links with a move to La Liga over the summer.
"I don't see how he could have solved that problem in any other way than coming back to us," Charlton continued.
"If he had wanted to go and forced us to send him off to Real Madrid or wherever, he would have had the same problem and it might never have gone away.
"The only way it will ever go away is by coming back here, playing alongside Wayne Rooney, doing well for Manchester United and by being seen to be working really hard to put right the little errors he has made."
The former Sporting Lisbon player is contracted at Old Trafford until 2010, and United are anxious to get their full money's worth for a player they paid £12.24 million for as an 18-year-old.
"I did not have it in my mind he would go anywhere else, never, ever," Charlton concluded.
"Maybe his agent was trying to find somewhere for him to go but I never took it too seriously that he would leave.
"He has signed a reasonably long contract and we will keep him to that.
"He wants to be successful. The more he thinks about it, the more he will realise he is in the right place."
The winger is set to make his playing return for The Red Devils in this weekend's Amsterdam Tournament, beginning with a tasty clash against FC Porto on Friday.
