Andros Townsend has revealed how the Everton squad reacted to the news of Cristiano Ronaldo returning to the Premier League this summer.
The Portugal international completed a sensational move to Manchester United in the closing days of the transfer window, having previously been strongly linked with a switch to rivals Man City.
The former Juventus and Real Madrid star moves back to Old Trafford 12 years after originally leaving the club in 2009, having made 292 appearances in all competitions and bagged 118 goals for the Red Devils.
And, speaking to talkSPORT, Townsend talked about the transfer and explained how much he is looking forward to potentially sharing a pitch with Ronaldo when Everton face United away from home on October 2nd.
The Blues winger said: "I think everyone is a little bit giddy.
"My era growing up - 15, 16, 17 - is Ronaldo's prime at Manchester United, scoring all those goals and inventing a new way to kick a ball.
"He was our idol, sort of, growing up. It'll be amazing for me to hopefully share the pitch with him, I think it's next month we play them.
"Hopefully I can share the pitch with Cristiano Ronaldo, one of my idols."
Everton were on their way to face Brighton in their final game before the international break when news of Ronaldo's return to Manchester United was revealed.
And Townsend has revealed that the upcoming transfer was a hot topic of discussion among the squad in the build-up to what was eventually a 2-0 win on the south coast for the Blues.
"Everyone up and down the country had conversations about it," the winger remarked.
"We were travelling for an away game and we heard the news of Ronaldo to Man City so we were discussing everything to do with that. Why would you do that? You'll give up your legacy...
"Then we turned on our phones and, bang. It was so quick, the news broke of Manchester United and within a few hours he'd signed!
"It was all we were speaking about and I'm sure you guys were the same, and everyone else up and down the country was fascinated by it."
