The summer transfer market in the world of soccer is a fascinating thing to observe. Each year, fans of all the major clubs excitedly refresh soccer news websites and Twitter to see if they can find any information on who they might be signing. It has gotten to a point now where the transfer window is written about almost as much as the matches themselves. If your team doesn’t buy the correct players (or, god forbid, not buy any players at all) then fans don’t hold back; they will send messages in their thousands, to vent their frustrations.
This summer was expected to be a fairly quiet one, given that many of the biggest sides were pleading poverty. For example, FC Barcelona, one of Spain’s most successful sides, are currently struggling with a debt of over $1.6 billion. Liverpool, one of England’s biggest teams, have won the Champions League and Premier League within the last three seasons, earning them millions. However, they only brought in one player over the summer, leaving their fans fuming.
However, in a surprise to many, there were in fact some enormous transfers completed this summer. One of the biggest was Lionel Messi’s move to Pars Saint Germain. Messi, often considered the world’s greatest player, had been with Barcelona for his entire career. But given their financial woes, they couldn’t afford to keep him, so he moved to France, to hopefully help PSG lift the Champions League for the first time.
The other most intriguing transfer was the only player who has rivalled Messi for the status of world’s best player over the last 10 years; Cristiano Ronaldo. His surprise move to Manchester United was one of the most talked-about on the internet for many years and really got some of the top internet sportsbooks excited.
Who is Ronaldo?
Ronaldo, for those of you who don’t know, is the most recognisable and popular sportsman in the entire world. He has 337 million followers on Instagram, more than any other player. In his illustrious career so far, he has won domestic titles in England (with Manchester United) Spain (with Real Madrid) and Italy (with Juventus). During his time at Madrid, he helped them to win the Champions League, the biggest club tournament in soccer, four times.
In 2016, he was captain and instrumental in helping his national side, Portugal, lift the UEFA European Championship for the first time. Two years later, he lifted the first UEFA Nations League trophy. Not only that, he has been awarded the FIFA Ballon d’Or, the award for the best player of that year, 5 times. Only one other man has won it more, his old rival Leo Messi.
While Ronaldo is now 36, he has shown no signs of slowing down. He continues to score goals for fun, with an incredible 589 club goals to date. In addition, he very recently became the highest international scorer of all time, with an incredible 111 goals in 180 games for Portugal. Love him or loath him (and
certainly there are plenty of people in the latter camp) it is undeniable that he is a phenomenon.
Why is his move back to Manchester a big deal?
Ronaldo’s transfer to Manchester United is a big deal because it was with United where his career really took off. He signed for them in 2003, when he was just 18 years old. In his 6 years playing in red, he went from a promising young attacker to an established world superstar. He scored 84 goals in 196 games and helped United to lift the Premier League three times. Not just that, but he played a key role in helping United lift the Champions League in 2008, even if he missed a penalty in the shootout at the end of the final.
For many Manchester United fans, he is their favourite player of all time. His natural talent was remarkable, he could do things with the ball that they’d never seen before and always looked to entertain the crowd with his goals and tricks. While they were sad to see him leave to Real Madrid in 2009, they accepted it, because they understood that he had achieved everything he set out to whilst playing in Manchester, and was looking for a new challenge.
Now, he has returned ‘home’, and expectations are incredibly high. United haven’t won the Premier League in nine seasons, and have struggled in Europe, despite having spent more than any other team in England over the last few years. Many are hoping that Ronaldo will be the final piece of the puzzle, and with him back in his famous ‘7’ shirt, the success and the trophies the fans crave will soon be returning to Old Trafford. Can he deliver, even at this late stage of his career? Only time will tell, but if one thing’s for sure, he will give 110% to get them back to being the best club in the world and to be recognised as the greatest player of all time.
