Cristiano Ronaldo has weighed into the Premier League title debate - by tipping his former side Manchester United to regain their league crown from rivals Manchester City.
United moved clear at the top of the Premier League table yesterday with a 3-1 win over QPR, a result Manchester City will have the chance to respond to this afternoon when they take on fellow title hopefuls Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The Citizens dramatically snatched the title from Sir Alex Ferguson's side in the last minute of the final game of last season, but Ronaldo believes the same won't happen this time round.
'I think United will do it this year and win their title back,' he said.
The Portuguese winger was back in Manchester for the first time since he departed Old Trafford in 2009 earlier this week as Real Madrid consigned Manchester City to a second consecutive group stage exit from the Champions League with a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium.
Ronaldo revealed his delight at being back in Manchester, and said although he met up with Sir Alex Ferguson, a move back to Old Trafford was never discussed.
'He [Ferguson] came to the hotel to speak with Mourinho and, of course, I spoke with him, too,' he said.
'We didn't speak about that [returning to United]. We just spoke about his moment with Manchester United and mine with Real Madrid. We were just happy to see each other.
'I have enjoyed coming back to Manchester. When we arrived at the airport I was so happy. I had a beautiful story here in Manchester so it was nice to see all the fans and a few Manchester United shirts, too - I am always happy to be here.'
Despite playing down a move back to England, Ronaldo did reveal he still keeps up to date with all the action in the Premier League.
He said: 'It is the most competitive league in the world, in my opinion ahead of Spain. You have a lot of brilliant players and the league is so intense it's amazing. I watch it in my house every week.'