How many goals would Cristiano Ronaldo score for Chelsea?

Roy Keane thinks his former teammate would hit the half-century mark if he was at Chelsea.

Cristiano Ronaldo would probably score 50 goals if he played at Chelsea, according to his former Manchester United teammate Roy Keane.

Ronaldo scored his 17th goal of the season on Thursday to snatch United a 1-1 draw against Chelsea and move level with Tottenham’s Son Heung-min as the Premier League’s second-highest scorer.

The Portuguese ace has now bagged eight goals in his last five league appearances.

“I know people are quick to criticize what [Ronaldo] doesn’t do, in terms of his pressing, but he was never great at that anyway,” Keane said on Sky Sports after the 1-1 draw against Chelsea.

“He’s the greatest at the hardest part of the game – putting the ball in the back of the net.

“That was his only chance tonight. Look at the chances Chelsea were creating; imagine if he’d been in the Chelsea team – he’d probably get 50 goals.

"Imagine Cristiano Ronaldo in that Chelsea team, he'd score 50 goals!" 👀 pic.twitter.com/FFPreMA6oJ

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 29, 2022

How can CR7 play under Ten Hag?

Keane also feels incoming boss Erik ten Hag can take inspiration from how the likes of Eric Cantona and Ruud van Nistelrooy played a bit-part defensive role during their respective spells at Old Trafford.

The former Red Devils captain has suggested Ten Hag could use this as a template to build a pressing team around Ronaldo next season.

Keane added: “Ten Hag will be having a sleepless night watching the team, but if you’ve got a player in the group who can score that amount of goals, they have to be involved. He’ll want to play week-in, week-out, the new manager will come in and will be looking for another striker but Ronaldo’s not hanging around unless he’s playing.

“That’s his biggest challenge, working with these personalities. As brilliant as they are, he has to get a team who can compete. And if that’s winning the ball back high and pressing, Ronaldo is not good at that. But I still think you can have him in your team and have other players who can do that.

“Cantona, Van Nistelrooy wouldn’t be great at chasing the ball back for you, but we had enough lads in the team who could win it. People say you need all your players to press, but you can get away with it with one player, and as long as they’re producing the goods you’ll forgive them.”