Manchester United will downplay Wayne Rooney's return

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Manchester United are set to downplay Wayne Rooney's return to Old Trafford
United have decided against a guard of honour or club presentation for Rooney
They are keen to avoid a repeat of what happened on Cristiano Ronaldo's return
Ronaldo scored the winning goal to knock United out of the Champions League
Jose Mourinho's side face Rooney's Everton in a Premier League clash on Sunday

Published: 17:30 EDT, 16 September 2017 | Updated: 20:24 EDT, 16 September 2017

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Manchester United won't be fussing over Wayne Rooney on his Old Trafford return with Romelu Lukaku on the cover of Sunday's programme against Everton and no repeat of the special welcome given to Cristiano Ronaldo when he revisited with Real Madrid in 2013.

United have decided against a guard of honour or club presentation for United's record goalscorer out of respect to Everton and there is no particular tribute to Rooney in the matchday magazine though he is mentioned.

In addition, there will be no repeat of Ronaldo's return when manager Sir Alex Ferguson asked stadium broadcaster Alan Keegan to announce the visiting team's line-up second so it ended with Ronaldo's name top of the bill accompanied by a giant roar throughout the stadium.

Manchester United will downplay Wayne Rooney's return when they face Everton on Sunday

Ferguson had hoped the emotion of the occasion would distract Ronaldo from performing at his best but though the Portuguese star had a quiet first half, he ended up scoring the winning goal as United were knocked out of the Champions League.

Everton manager Ronald Koeman paid his own tribute to Rooney ahead of his return.

'He made a big contribution for Man United. At that time they had a lot of good players like Giggs. The quality in that team was incredible and he was part of that,' said Koeman.

United have decided against a guard of honour or club presentation for their record goalscorer

'He was English, he was young, he was scoring goals, he was a creative player and with more experience he was also important for the team and for the dressing room.

'Finally he chose Everton because he thought he didn't get enough game time and came back home and that is what happened to Wayne. Still, he is that player.'

Lukaku moved from Everton to United in a £75million move last summer and his appearance on the programme cover is a reflection of his bright start at Old Trafford with six goals in six games.