It’s easy to characterize the worries of experts and journalists about Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United as negative, jealous or vindictive, but if we’re being honest the point is that there really could be potential issues associated with this. historic decision.
The commercial appeal of the transfer is a given, as reported here yesterday, but when it comes to football, even if United are signing a player widely regarded as the greatest of all time, there could be pitfalls.
David Walsh of The Times lists a number of seemingly legitimate concerns.
First of all, he points to the fact that despite Ronaldo’s 101 goals in 137 games for Juventus, he hasn’t helped the club do more, and it could indeed be argued that the old lady has taken a step back during his stay in Turin.
“His legion of fans will say the goals absolve him of any responsibility for the downfall of the team,” Walsh said.
“It would be a simplistic conclusion. Something that [Brentford owner] Matthew Benham said the strikers were echoing.
“If I look at a forward,” said Benham, “I don’t care about his scoring record at all. For me, the only thing that is interesting is the way the team behaves collectively, offensively and defensively, in the context of an individual’s performance.
“How have Juventus been affected by Ronaldo’s presence? Many Juventus observers felt that the wealthy talented Paulo Dybala was no longer the same player after the superstar arrived: the artist became the artist’s apprentice.
“In the football jungle, Ronaldo is the tallest tree. In its shadow, smaller and younger trees can fight for light.
Will Mason Greenwood, Jadon Sancho, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford learn from GOAT or fall under its shadow? It could be a bit of both.
As many have noted, Ronaldo is still a powerful goal scoring machine and simply preventing Manchester City from putting on this final jewel in their crown could be worth enough for United alone. But he’s an extravagant, luxury player, his inability to squeeze is well documented; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have to make sure this is not a message to young players.
The effect on Bruno Fernandes will also be interesting to observe. Bruno likes to be the focal point of his team, he’s a leader. It could of course be that not being the biggest star will take the pressure off him and set him free to speak out more. But it could be that, as he arguably does when playing for the national team, his second-fiddle status somehow undermines his usual dynamism.
And what about Edinson Cavani? A nostalgic figure set to return to South America after a year in England in which he was unfairly punished by the FA and separated from his family due to Covid travel restrictions, he was persuaded to stay at the club one more season to occupy this famous number 7 shirt. Now he’s stripped of his jersey and in all likelihood deprived of a place in the starting XI and also banned from returning to Uruguay to make the World Cup qualifiers. It’s not entirely Ronaldo’s fault, of course, but his arrival could certainly be a factor that could hurt Cavani’s state of mind.
Another unknown factor is whether Solskjaer will feel pressure from United owners to pick the 36-year-old due to business considerations, regardless of his performance. Walsh points out that “In his one season as Juventus head coach, Maurizio Sarri lamented the reality of his station. “I entered Ronaldo’s name first, and then I decided what to do next,” he said.
And conversely, if Solskjaer is free to pivot and bench the Portuguese and decide to do so, we have no idea how Ronaldo will react. As he enters his 38th and 39th years, will his ego allow him to become an impact submarine, or a team player, or one of the many fish in a large pond? We do not know.
It’s also unclear what effect the media circus around Ronaldo will have on the rest of the squad. We know that Paul Pogba’s own circus caused a lot of distractions, including a Mino Raiola publicity stunt that arguably led United to withdraw from the Champions League last season. Many United fans have argued that Pogba should be sold because the circus is distracting the team. Ronaldo’s circus is a thousand times bigger than that of the Frenchman. We can only wait and hope that this does not become a factor.
In all likelihood, any positive aspects of the return of the prodigal son will outweigh all these concerns. The greatest player in the world could and should have the transformative effect we all hope for and elevate United to the rank of true Premier League and Champions League contenders. But neither can we simply sweep the worries under the rug. They will need to be managed carefully for this success to occur.
–
