United paired with Real Madrid in UCL's round of 16
Ronaldo celebrates in '08
By Chris
December 21 2012
Cristiano Ronaldo will make an emotional return to Old Trafford as Manchester United have been drawn alongside Real Madrid in the Champions League 'round of 16'. United will travel to the Bernabeu in February, before welcoming the Spanish giants to the Thearte of Dreams the following month.
United will take on Real Madrid for the first time in almost a decade, with Sir Alex Ferguson's men landing one of the toughest challenges in Thursday's draw.
The match will see Ronaldo take on his former club. The right-winger became a global footballing superstar following a £12.24million move from Sporting Lisbon in 2003, departing for Real Madrid for £80million six years later.
Ronaldo scored 118 goals for the Red Devils and lifted the Champions League trophy in 2008. His Los Blancos side are hoping to win their tenth European Cup crown this season - but are being outshone domestically, sitting third in the La Liga table and trailing Barcelona by 13 points.
The two sides will renew their rivalry having not met for almost a decade. Real dumped United out of the 2002/2003 competition 6-5 on aggregate, with (the other) Ronaldo producing a mesmerizing performance in the second-leg at Old Trafford with a hat-trick.
It is deemed as an advantage for the second-leg to be taking place in Lancashire - but United will be disappointed with this daunting draw against one of the continent's most famous sporting institutions.
Other ties involving British clubs see Arsenal take on Bayern Munich and SPL champions Celtic challenging Serie A's Juventis.
The full draw is as follows:
Galatasaray v FC Schalke
Glasgow Celtic v Juventus
Arsenal v Bayern Munich
Shakhtar Donetsk v Borussia Dortmund
AC Milan v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Manchester United
Valencia v Paris St Germain
FC Porto v Malaga