The prodigal son returns to the Premier League. Twelve years after his big-money move to Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo has left the Old Lady of Turin for Old Trafford to play for Manchester United once again.
Now 36 years of age, the Portuguese superstar is clearly no longer at the peak of his powers, but he has shown he can still be a productive player. However, will his addition actually help the Red Devils reclaim the league title they’ve won just twice since his departure?
That is the massive question SBOTOP will look to solve in our in-depth breakdown of Ronaldo’s stunning move back to Manchester.
Ronaldo returns to Manchester
Much like old foe Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo has made a stunning move this summer. He arrives at Old Trafford after engineering a move away from Juventus. Ronaldo requested not to start their Serie A season opener against Udinese, clearly signalling his intent to transfer out of Turin.
In the following days, Ronaldo was linked with a shock move to Manchester’s other club, City, after they had failed to land their coveted transfer target, Harry Kane, from Tottenham.
But while that move failed to materialise, Ronaldo still ended up in Manchester as United swooped in and quickly set up a homecoming for their old hero.
Ronaldo spent six very successful years at United, scoring 118 goals in 292 appearances. He won four Premier League titles with the Red Devils, as well as the 2008 Champions League and the first of his five Ballon d’Ors.
A different Ronaldo
Of course, Ronaldo is a much different player from his first stint at United, when he was operating primarily as speedy winger. With his advancing age, he has evolved into more of a centre-forward who exclusively scores goals.
Granted, he did that job quite well at Juventus. In his three seasons in Turin, he scored an impressive 101 goals in 134 appearances. He won the Capocannoniere as Serie A’s top scorer last season with 29 goals. He also won the Golden Boot in this summer’s Euro 2020 after scoring five goals in four games for Portugal.
However, those Juventus and Portugal sides were more or less built around Ronaldo, which allowed him to continue producing impressive scoring numbers. But his teams as a whole have not fared quite as well.
Ronaldo’s role at United
That makes Ronaldo’s role at United so intriguing. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer already had a squad stocked with young attacking players in Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, and marquee signing Jadon Sancho, as well as a perfectly capable veteran striker in Edinson Cavani.
United were at their best last season with Cavani as the focal point of their attack. Aside from scoring goals, the Uruguayan held up the ball well, brought others into play, made intelligent runs to create space, and also did his fair share of defensive work.
Should Ronaldo replace Cavani as United’s starting centre-forward, he is unlikely to do any of those things Cavani did aside from scoring goals.
It also remains to be seen how well Ronaldo fits alongside his compatriot Bruno. Everyone got a preview of that Portuguese partnership at the Euros; it resulted in Bruno having a disappointing tournament and eventually getting dropped from the starting XI.
Ronaldo’s return could also have ripple effects on Paul Pogba’s role. The Frenchman has already produced some stunning Premier League 2021 highlights with five assists in the first two games while playing further forward on the left-hand side.
But that has primarily been the space where Ronaldo has preferred to operate, so Solskjaer might be forced to play Pogba back in a deeper midfield role, especially with Scott McTominay set to miss time after undergoing surgery.
Will Ronaldo help United reclaim crown?
Clearly, Cristiano’s transfer back to Old Trafford was more of a ‘want’ than a ‘need’ from United’s perspective. Instead of targeting another central midfielder as many supporters have been clamouring for to address the team’s most glaring weakness, they brought back an ageing club legend whose presence will produce more publicity than points.
As such, Ronaldo’s return looks unlikely to improve the Red Devils’ Premier League 2021 odds of winning the title all that much, especially with the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea looking as formidable as they have been to start the season.
Juventus also had visions of success when they brought Ronaldo in three years ago, thinking he was the missing piece to their Champions League triumph. But Ronaldo showed in his three years at Turin that his goals no longer instantly guarantee team success. For all of his strengths as a goalscorer, his shortcomings have significant consequences to the rest of the side.
Still, to many Man United fans, Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford is a dream come to true. He will score his fair share of goals and bring back memories of the old glory days. But while the return of the prodigal son is now a reality, the dream of him bringing the Premier League title back to the Theatre of Dreams will likely remain just a dream.
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