Manchester United wingers have a hard enough time dealing with Cristiano Ronaldo comparisons without also sharing a birthday.
12 years after the mastermind behind United’s Class of 92 likened Adnan Januzaj to CR7, the only similarities that remain today are that both will be celebrating on February 5.
Ronaldo is celebrating his 40th birthday, having established himself as one of the greatest footballers in history.
CR7 was just a spotty 17-year-old when he signed for United in 2003, instantly taking the No.7 shirt on the opposite wing to Ryan Giggs.
A decade later, another teenager was given a similar honour, with Januzaj inheriting Giggs’ shirt when the Welshman retired.
The huge show of faith in the-then 19-year-old came after his rapid rise from academy talent to Old Trafford superstar.
Sir Alex Ferguson once dubbed Januzaj ‘a beautifully balanced player’ and was earmarked as the legendary manager’s parting gift.
Fergie gave the Belgian a spot on the bench in his final match in charge – the 5-5 draw at West Brom.
The Scot said: “We know we’ve got a really special talent, but we’ll keep his feet on the ground. He’s going to be a top, top player.”
Januzaj looked to have lived up to the hype when he burst onto the scene in his first United start in a 2-1 win over Sunderland.
The attacker single-handedly completed the comeback from a goal down for his side, scoring twice, to spark a seven-game unbeaten run.
David Moyes compared the teenager’s characteristics to Johan Cruyff and claimed his talent was akin to a young Wayne Rooney.
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“Along with Wayne Rooney, Adnan is the best young talent I’ve worked with as a manager,” Moyes told ESPN.
“He’s a wonderful player gifted with great balance and the ability to go past people with ease.
“When I see his poise on the ball he has characteristics of Johan Cruyff.”
“Januzaj is outstanding and I think he is similar to Cristiano Ronaldo,” former United youth coach Eric Harrison said in 2013.
Robin van Persie declared: “Over the years I’ve seen so many young players and I can honestly say that of all the young players I’ve seen he is right up there in the top one or two. He’s a special player.”
Unfortunately for Januzaj, he fell out of favour under Moyes’ successor Louis van Gaal.
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He explained to the Daily Mail in 2017: “There was not the same freedom. A winger needs that confidence, a manager telling you, ‘Go and take people on’. With him, it was a slow passing game.
“For some it was difficult. You could see some players were not enjoying the football. The manager and I had many difficult meetings.
“I was frustrated and everyone could see that I was not the same Adnan as the first year. I was sometimes even in the stands. When you work hard in training and then get left out, it’s hard for a young guy.
“It was not only me. As a footballer, if you think too much on the pitch, it is never good. You need instinct in your play. When the ball came to us, we had to stop and think, ‘What are we going to do with it here?’, ‘I can’t lose the ball’.”
Loan spells at Borussia Dortmund and Sunderland failed to reignite his career and the writing was on the wall for the once-heralded star.
England manager Thomas Tuchel, who was manager of BVB in 2015-16, suggested Januzaj ‘did not show the desire and attitude you need to progress at his age’.
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He told Sportbild: “My feeling was that he never was completely with us, that a part of him always stayed in Manchester and he compared everything here with United.”
Januzaj was later sold by Jose Mourinho, having played 63 games, scoring just three more times in a United shirt after that debut double.
The 15-cap Belgium international enjoyed a brief career revival during a five-year spell at Real Sociedad but was released in 2022.
He has since struggled to make an impact at Sevilla, being farmed out on loan to Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey and now La Liga strugglers Las Palmas.
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A sad sign of his decline was Januzaj being an unused substitute for a 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid last month, with Los Blancos boasting a team of superstars who have lived up to the hype around them as teenagers, including Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe.
There’s a parallel universe where Januzaj is among them, and Red Devils fans could have dedicated February 5 as a date to celebrate two of their greatest wingers of all time.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a player, probably since Ryan (Giggs) who was as good as that, he was unbelievable,” said former United midfielder Nicky Butt in 2019.
“In my eyes, he should have gone to be a world superstar.”