Ronaldo is set to switch to the Bernabeu after the clubs agreed a world record £80m fee and the Liverpool defender reckons that will give hope to the rest of the Barclays Premier League.

The Portuguese star has been a massive influence for the Red Devils and his 84 goals in 157 Barclays Premier League starts will be hard to replace.

great player

However Carragher knows the champions will still be a force to be reckoned with in the new campaign.

He said: "Cristiano Ronaldo is a great player and I think he will be a big miss for the Premier League.

"He makes a big difference to Manchester United, even though they have a lot of other great players, and I think he was the one for them.

"But I'm sure Sir Alex Ferguson knows what he is doing and to have £80m to go and spend, that's a lot of money. It will be difficult to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, but maybe they will do it a different way and get two or three players.

"It's difficult to replace that, but I'm sure they will sort it out. Hopefully they won't bring in someone as good as Ronaldo!"