Cristiano Ronaldo has recently appeared to have quashed any thought that he will leave Real Madrid before he retires – but he can’t know for sure, right?
Here, I consider whether or not Ronaldo could – at any point – make a return home, to Old Trafford; from a logical point of view, rather than a hopeful or speculative one. Enjoy.
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Cristiano Ronaldo is the current holder of the Balon d’Or and the talisman of the mighty Real Madrid. In 2014-15 he scored 59 goals and clocked 19 assists in 45 games for Los Blancos.
His career has taken him from the Alvalade to the Bernabeu, via the likes of Old Trafford, Wembley and Moscow. Notorious for his wicked striking ability and mercurial pace, the Portuguese superstar is one of the best players the world has ever seen… but could he ever come home?
With 10 goals in his final six games of this season, including three hat-tricks, it is hard to describe Ronaldo. Besides being a phenomenal football player, he is a model, a sponsorship goldmine and huge giver to charities across the globe. He refuses to get tattoos so that he can continuously donate blood and reportedly has given millions of dollars in international aid. His arrogance on the pitch is often condemned, but off it, he appears as humble and down-to-earth as any other man.
In 2014, his salary at Real Madrid was around £14,000,000 – and that is before any endorsement deals with companies such as Nike or Tag Heuer. His life has not always been so full of the riches and spoils of today, though.
Born in Funchal, Portugal, Ronaldo claims that he lived a life of poverty, sharing a bedroom with his siblings for much of his childhood. He was expelled from school at the age of 14 for throwing a chair at a ‘disrespectful’ teacher – but it may just be the best thing he ever did, as he never returned to education and instead focused solely on football from then on.
He played for the youth teams of Andorinha and then Nacional before joining the ranks at Sporting CP (Lisbon). Five years after his switch to the Leones, in 2002, he made his debut for the senior side, scoring twice in a 3-0 win. He carried on impressing for them with a number of key performances, but perhaps most importantly, he was vital in a 3-1 beating of Manchester United. Urged by his players to sign their Portuguese opponent, Sir Alex Ferguson obliged – bringing Cristiano to Old Trafford and away from the clutches of Liverpool, Barcelona and Arsenal in 2003.
Given the famous number seven shirt, Ronaldo’s early performances at United earned praise from George Best: “There have been a few players described as ‘the new George Best’ over the years, but this is the first time it’s been a compliment to me.”.
He went on to finish the season with 6 goals, a figure which seems strange to associate with a player of his current stature. In the seasons that followed, Cristiano Ronaldo simply improved upon his improvements and became an absolute monster for the Old Trafford club. In 2008, he scored the opening goal in the Champions League final against Chelsea, before missing his penalty in the shootout which followed Frank Lampard’s equaliser. Perhaps one of the most iconic images of Ronaldo is him sobbing on the halfway line after Edwin van der Sar saved Nicolas Anelka’s penalty to win the tournament for United. His passion and thirst for success are on another level to most.
Just over a year later, after a very long season of speculation, Ronaldo finally packed his bags for the Spanish capital. He cost Real Madrid £80,000,000 – a mouth-watering world-record transfer fee at the time. This is seen by many now as having been very cheap, as he has only improved further at Madrid. Having just finished his sixth season for the club, he has scored more than a goal every game in his time there. Perhaps his most impressive record is that he is the only player in history to score 50+ goals in one season on five or more occasions.
Every summer without fail there has been speculation that the three-time Balon d’Or winner could one day return to Manchester United to be reunited with the club and fans that made him the player he is today; and every summer this speculation appears to gather some kind of legitimacy before being shot down when Red Devils fans hopes reach their highest peak. It would be far to say that almost everyone connected to Manchester United would give an arm to watch Ronaldo pull on the famous red shirt again – but is it feasible? What would the cost be?
As aforementioned, his £80m transfer fee is now seen as an inadequate amount for such a player, but six seasons on from his departure, Ronaldo is now 30 years old, so it is questionable as to whether or not a new world-record breaking transfer fee could be commanded. He would, of course, probably score at least 40 goals a season for the next three seasons, so would those goals be worth £130 million? £150 million? If they would win trophies, yes.
With no Financial Fair Play sanctions wavering above United’s head, any move for Ronaldo could certainly take place. With their new Adidas kit deal being worth £750m and TV money set to increase again next season, it is not really a question of affordability.
The man himself has never ruled out a return to Old Trafford and has even at times hinted that he would like to return before the end of his career.
It seems that the most sensible time for him to make that return would be sooner, rather than later. Having endured a difficult 2014-15, with Madrid fans turning their back on him (goodness knows what it would take for the Stretford End to do that), Ronaldo is thought to be unhappy, at least privately, regardless of what he tells the world’s media. He also has other cause for concern; He publicly backed former manager Carlo Ancelotti just days before he was sacked by Madrid President Florentino Perez. Perez is also a huge advocate of Ronaldo’s team-mate, Gareth Bale, and the trigger man at Madrid’s decision to appoint Rafa Benitez as the team’s new manager could end up being bad news for Cristiano. Benitez seems to be of the opinion that his team should be built around Bale, meaning that Ronaldo may no longer be the recognised talisman and he may be frozen out by Madrid’s hierarchy.
It is perhaps a bit of a long shot to state that Madrid would be foolish enough to send Ronaldo on his way but Angel di Maria joined United from Madrid last summer after making it well known that he felt mistreated by the powers that be in the Spanish capital. Di Maria is a good friend of Ronaldo’s, as are Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney – so a reunion with the likes of them on Sir Matt Busby Way may appeal to the Portuguese hitman as an escape route.
With Louis van Gaal looking set to continue spending in order to build a perfect squad, next summer would be the perfect time to bring in Ronaldo. Obviously a marquee signing, it would make sense to buy him sooner rather than later so as to fit him into the new look side who will be looking to challenge for the Premier League title. With a player of Ronaldo’s calibre, United could challenge on every front instead of maybe one or two – and blow their rivals out of the water.
The one real problem is in the balance of the team, though. Naturally, Ronaldo would start every match, or as close to every match as possible – so it’s not a question of where he would fit in, but everyone else.
Ashley Young and Memphis Depay all play in the same position as Ronaldo. Young has had a brilliant season on the left wing and really proved his worth to the team – but would there be room for him if Ronaldo returned?. It would be him or Memphis as understudy to Ronaldo, and Memphis is walking a tightrope at the moment in terms of form, but is obviously more of an asset in terms of potential – it’s a tricky situation.
Both would lose their place to the phenomenon that is Cristiano Ronaldo. There is no tactically-sound way to fit Young, Memphis, Ronaldo, Rooney and Mata onto the same pitch – although it would be a spectacle. Van Gaal is a huge believer in having the right balance in his squad and to have a bench of solely attacking players would not be something any sane manager would consider. Does this mean that players would be sold to make way for Ronaldo if he were to make the switch to England? It would be surprising to see any of the above players leave the club, in all honesty
Although this article could go on for another 5,000 words quite comfortably, it is impossible to reach a definitive conclusion. To say that Ronaldo could or could not come back to Old Trafford and be successful is too complex a matter. The money would have to be ridiculous, the juggling of the squad would be incredibly difficult and Madrid would be playing hardball with the negotiating.
However, it is Cristiano Ronaldo. Nobody in their right mind would reject what he would bring to any football team and Ed Woodward, if given the go ahead, would do anything to bring him to Old Trafford once more. Only time will tell if the club legend can come home.
