David de Gea shares one-word nickname for former Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo

Former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea described former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo as an 'animal' after he scored a brace in Al-Nassr's 5-2 win over Al-Ittihad Club on Tuesday.

The former United striker, who will turn 39 in February, scored two penalties to keep Al-Nassr's hopes of catching Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League title race alive. They are currently seven points behind the table-toppers with just under half of the season remaining.

Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nassr 12 months ago, has been in fine goalscoring form so far this season, plundering 23 goals in 24 appearances in all competitions. He has also racked up 11 assists.

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His brace against Al-Ittihad marked his 18th and 19th Saudi Pro League goals of the campaign, cementing his position at the top of the division's goalscoring chart. He is currently three clear of his nearest challenger, who is former Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has 16 goals for Al Hilal so far this term.

Ronaldo's Boxing Day brace maintained his hot streak in front of goal, with his double marking his third and fourth goals in just his last three league outings. As a side note, he has scored in all but four of his 17 Saudi Pro League outings so far this season.

Already on 37 goals in just 43 appearances for Al-Nassr, it is clear that Ronaldo's age is not resulting in him slowing down in front of goal. He remains as hungry and determined to score as he did during the height of his career at Real Madrid.

And that is what De Gea was almost certainly referencing when he described him as an 'animal' in an Instagram post. Ronaldo had