Expectations were high when Manchester United finally confirmed the return of Cristiano Ronaldo last summer, with fans finally believing that the side now had the quality needed to compete for all honors, or at least apply significant pressure to Premier League heavyweights Liverpool and Manchester City. However, things haven’t exactly gone to plan. Despite a good season individually for Ronaldo, this highly valued Manchester United side severely underperformed. Crashing out to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League was paired with equal dismay in domestic football competitions. United had one of their worst overall points tallies ever, while only scraping a Europa League place on account of other sides being equally dismal in league performance.
On the back of an underwhelming season and Europa League football looming, it has been confirmed that Ronaldo has asked his agent Jorge Mendes to find him another club. Here I will explore the reasons for wanting to leave, the options available to him and the likelihood of actually leaving Manchester this summer.
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The Cristiano Problem: Stay or Go?
Why Does Cristiano Want To Leave?
Despite reports that Ronaldo was initially happy with the appointment of Dutch manager Erik Ten Haag, it has been said that Ronaldo is unhappy with United’s inactivity in the transfer market. A club that was evidently lacking in quality (as seen by the results of last season); it was expected that United would be very active in the transfer market this year. Rival sides were early to strengthen, as seen by City’s acquisition of Erling Haaland, Liverpool’s purchase of Darwin Nunez, Arsenal’s pursuit of Gabriel Jesus- just to name a few. As of this moment, the only official signings for United have been talented left back Tyrell Malacia and free-agent Cristian Eriksen. This is highly disappointing considering that other areas perhaps need to be strengthened first. Slow and steady, United are becoming more competitive in terms of transfers, but they have taken their sweet time.
Look at their summer-long pursuit of Frenkie De Jong for example. A player who has openly said they are happy in Barcelona, not actively looking to leave. Yet, United have spent significant time chasing him this summer, only for it to look unlikely that the signing will actually happen. It must be difficult for Cristiano watching rival teams recruit top players, while United seem to have lost that pull.
Furthermore, it is said that Cristiano wants to play for a team that he believes can compete for all honors. With so few signings, this does seem unlikely at this moment at United.
Additionally, the lack of Champions League football is something foreign to Cristiano. In the entirety of his career, Ronaldo has never played in a European competition lower than the Champions League, and it appears unlikely that he is willing to drop down to Europa League, or even Conference League at this stage in his career. The only frustrations regarding this aspect is that Ronaldo knew for a significant period that this would be the case, yet showed no problem at first.
So Where Can He Go?
This is the tricky part of the whole process. Where can he go? Because in reality, it doesn’t seem like any club currently is a good fit. Aged 37, Ronaldo isn’t the same type of player he was in his younger years. He has lost that pressing ability, he cannot take on defenders like he used to- but he can sniff out the back of the net and get into those positions that you want a center-forward to linger. Ronaldo has been linked to Chelsea, Bayern and Atletico in recent weeks, but it doesn’t appear that any of these moves will work out.
Chelsea have cooled their interest, possibly because United won’t want to sell their star player to a direct rival, while Chelsea have just signed Raheem Sterling. Bayern seems the most sensible choice, seeing as how Lewandowski has just joined Barcelona, leaving them without a main forward. The player is like-for-like, and could be a short-term solution for Bayern, for two seasons or so. That being said, Bayern Director Oliver Kahn has said that although he appreciates Cristiano’s talent and legendary career, he does not currently fit the philosophy of the club. This is seemingly true, as Bayern don’t often purchase aging stars to be their main men.
Atletico are apparently interested, but unable to finance a deal that would satisfy both Manchester United in terms of transfer fees, and Cristiano in terms of salary.
PSG have a full quota of stars, a return to Italy seems unlikely while former employers Real Madrid are maxed out in attackers also. This unfortunately leaves Cristiano with few to no options.
So Will He Leave?
At this stage, it is too difficult to say. A player of Ronaldo’s caliber always seems to get what he wants when it comes to moves. He moved to Madrid in 2009 despite United wanting to keep him, he signed for Juventus and similarly for United again later on, despite being the star player for each side at the time. So it does appear that if a move arises with suitable terms, Cristiano will almost certainly be off. However, at this stage it doesn’t appear that there are any suitors. The only concrete offer Cristiano has has was from the Saudi League for a whopping 250 Million Euros over two seasons. This was swiftly rejected, however.
Without any suitors, it appears that Ronaldo will have to shake off his worries and prepare to lace his boots as a key member of Erik Ten Haag’s Manchester United side.