The new Cristiano Ronaldo who failed at Manchester United. Who was he and where is he now

It is 2009, April 5th. Manchester United plays home versus Aston Villa and needs a win to get closer to the Premier League title, but after the early Cristiano Ronaldo's goal, the rival makes a comeback and gets ahead. Sir Alex Ferguson subs in a young striker who was making his pro debut. Minute 80, CR7 makes the equalizer. And in third added minute, this kid scores to win the match and the league.

This kid was Federico Macheda. His great goal caused great surprise everywhere, because he was only 17 at the time. He scored again in the next match and with the title, people could easily see him as the new Cristiano Ronaldo. A star was born, supposedly. But actually, everything stopped right there.

He suffered injuries and the pressure of being a savior when Sampdoria signed him on loan to avoid relegation, while being so young. He played a lot for Italy youth teams, but never for the senior. And after years of lower league loans and bad performances, he apparently found his place.

Macheda join Novara in 2016 and with 10 goals in 51 matches, he started getting confidence in Serie B. Two years later he went to Greece and signed for Panathinaikos, where he is now, at the most consistent form of his life. 30 goals in 80 matches. The comparisons with CR7 stopped, but he is finding himself again, at 29 years old.