It was always going to end in tears. The return of Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United was hardly smooth, with it always seeming more of a PR move than a football-driven decision.
If truth be told, Ronaldo had one season of solid production with a questionable impact on the team for the remainder of his tenure at Old Trafford.
What the future holds for Ronaldo is as yet unclear despite numerous reports of historically large contracts. Ronaldo is yet to commit to a move, but it is clear his time at the elite level has passed.
Fernando Santos’ decision to leave him on the bench for Portugal’s knockout matches will go down in football history as the end of Ronaldo’s career at the top.
Where Ronaldo stands among the best Premier League strikers is up for debate. How his departure impacts Manchester United is nothing to do with legacy, though.
It is easy to get swept up in talking about Ronaldo the all-time great goal scorer rather than the reality of the player in Manchester United red over the last 18 months.
Cristiano Ronaldo has left Manchester United but what is next for the Portugal star after the World Cup?
— 888sport (@888sport) November 23, 2022
✍️ Join @FabrizioRomano as he pens his thoughts on CR7 and his Old Trafford exit.https://t.co/8WIgBbnzce
Yes, a return of 18 in 27 Premier League starts was good. It was also a marked drop off from his production since leaving Old Trafford for the first time, and this decline was mirrored in his expected goal figures.
To look at just the goal scoring is to miss so much of what Ronaldo did (or didn’t) bring to Manchester United.
There were moments when that goal scoring threat in the box made a difference, but the deeper into his career he has gone, the more limited he has become.
That is not an untrodden path for veteran megastars, of course. Ronaldo, though, has become a goal poacher, a far cry from the stepover-machine of his first United stint or the do-it-all winger that went toe-to-toe with Lionel Messi for Ballon d’Or gongs.
Under the management of Ole Gunner Solskjaer, there were efforts to shape the team around Ronaldo. Ralf Rangnick was less keen. Ushering in a new era under Erik ten Hag, the situation on and off the field was simply unsustainable.
Short Term Benefit
Ten Hag has made a point of wanting control at the club. That means not being pressured to play someone on reputation alone, and it means occasionally going against the wishes of Ronaldo.
The cringe-inducing interview with Piers Morgan was the final straw for United, but the relationship between the club, manager and player has been strained throughout the season.
While ten Hag has publicly dealt with the saga well, and it doesn’t seem to have adversely impacted his teammates, the tension cannot be beneficial for a club trying to turn a leaf under ten Hag.
This isn’t just a player being difficult either. Upon Ronaldo’s return, he was talked up as a winner and leader, a character who can improve standards at the club.
Instead, the supposed leader has gone out of his way to undermine the manager and forced his way out.
Erik ten Hag has addressed Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United departure for the very first time... 👀
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 7, 2022
[🎥] MUTVpic.twitter.com/GCTUEkm776
Given Ronaldo’s attitude to the club and his manager, the level of drama among the team itself has been under relative control.
Ten Hag has been hard-nosed but fair. Teammates have kept quiet. One wonders how Jadon Sancho and Harry Maguire – also dropped by ten Hag for poor performance – feel about Ronaldo’s antics.
Moving on from Ronaldo was the only option for ten Hag, and rightly so.
The former Ajax manager said, "When a player definitely doesn’t want to be in this club then he has to go, clear. We want a new future of Manchester United and he [Ronaldo] didn’t want to be part of it. We move on."
There should be a sense of comparative calm around the club now. Questions about Ronaldo will stop, which can only help ten Hag in his efforts to take the Red Devils back to the top.
Opens Up Opportunities
Not only does Ronaldo leaving calm the choppy waters. It opens opportunity for others. Ronaldo was being used as a rotation option in the Europa League, encroaching on minutes that could have gone to younger players.
While ten Hag did not go out of his way to appease Ronaldo, his presence was a constant talking point, a topic lingering around the club throughout the first half of the season. Did he really want to give him minutes even in routine Europa League matches?
👀 Man United are bottom of the Premier League but @FabrizioRomano says fans should keep the faith...
— 888sport (@888sport) August 16, 2022
✍️ Here's why Erik ten Hag remains the right man to lead the #MUFC project. https://t.co/8fIbueicJV
There are more openings for Alejandro Garnacho and Anthony Elanga. Perhaps January brings another attacking player to fill that void, like the much-rumoured Cody Gakpo.
Ronaldo played over 1000 minutes across the Europa League and Premier League. They are 1000 minutes which could have gone to players both better suited to ten Hag’s football and with a chance of being a factor for the club in 2024 and beyond.
While none of the aforementioned trio are exact swaps for Ronaldo on the pitch, there is now greater flexibility for ten Hag to experiment or for his front line to interchange whether it is Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial or even Gakpo nominally leading the line.
United Are Better Off
Ronaldo striding off towards a massive payday in the Middle East doesn’t elevate Manchester United to betting favourites in the Premier League.
It does, however, simplify things for ten Hag. And, while we can’t really know how his teammates feel, this must be a relief for a club which could do without the turmoil.
The hassle was far outweighing the production. Ronaldo’s much-hyped return was always a short-term fix to a problem much deeper.
🇧🇷 Casemiro to Man United is done but how will he fit in at Old Trafford?
— 888sport (@888sport) August 21, 2022
✍️ @FabrizioRomano pens his thoughts on the latest star name through the door at #MUFC and how he is a key cog in Erik ten Hag's project.https://t.co/WKRdTrCVOL
Project and rebuild are two overused words in football, but however we label ten Hag’s Old Trafford venture, it is a longer-term vision for the team, and perhaps the club itself.
Ronaldo did not fit that in 2022. He would become more ill-fitting as time progressed and his decline continued.
United are hoping this period under ten Hag is akin to Liverpool’s first couple of seasons with Jurgen Klopp. This is not the time for short-termism or distractions.
Perhaps Ronaldo would have delivered a couple of important goals to improve their 2022-23 points tally, but that would not have been worthwhile for a team looking towards 2023-24 and beyond with this group.
