I took Cristiano Ronaldo’s shirt number at Man United – I felt no pressure whatsoever

Michael Owen said that he felt "no pressure" when taking over the iconic no. 7 shirt at Manchester United - despite it previously belonging to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Owen made the move to United from Newcastle on a free transfer, having started his career at Liverpool where he won the Ballon d'Or at just 22 years old. After stints at Real Madrid and the Magpies, he arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2009, coinciding with Ronaldo's £79.2million transfer to Real.

Taking over the famous no. 7 shirt from Ronaldo, Owen insists he felt no pressure and stated that Sir Alex Ferguson chose him to "represent it well".

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Speaking to Genting Casino, the now-44-year-old said: "I think because I was at that stage of my career I didn't feel any pressure in taking Cristiano Ronaldo's shirt number and that's what Sir Alex Ferguson said to me."

"He said to me when he handed me the number because I had pretty much been there, seen it, done it and played for great teams under the biggest of pressures and won the biggest of trophies. It was probably in safe hands. I wasn't going to go into a nightclub and do anything stupid or be disrespectful to the shirt in any way.

"I was a pro and people knew my character and knew that it was in safe hands. There also wasn’t the expectation of matching his 40 goals because I was coming to the end of my career."

As Owen was nearing the downturn of his career, Ronaldo was just beginning his stellar run in football. He went on to score an astonishing 450 goals for Real Madrid, winning four Champions Leagues, two