As Man United star Cristiano Ronaldo prepares to face Real Sociedad in the Europa League, Sportsmail winds back the clock to his last game in the competition - as a half-time sub in a 6-4 aggregate loss against Partizan Belgrade TWENTY years ago!

It's been two decades since Cristiano Ronaldo last missed out on the Champions League.

The evergreen Manchester United forward, now 37, has accumulated 183 appearances across 19 seasons in Europe's premier competition, scoring 140 goals - both figures an all-time record.

Portuguese forward Ronaldo's figure of 140 is more than double everyone in history apart from four players - Lionel Messi (125), Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema (both 86) and Raul (71).

But after the Red Devils' hugely disappointing campaign in 2021-22, new boss Erik ten Hag and his side now face a return to the Europa League with a clash against Real Sociedad on Thursday.