What you are about to read is pure speculation. It’s an exercise in what maybe It happens that in trying to find logic in a game (football) there is little and a passing summer ritual (transfer market) often even less. With Cristiano RonaldoThe future of the game seems to be coming with very few options, it could lead to a significant return for one of the greatest players in the history of the game.
Last year, Ronaldo’s summer came to an end when his agent, Jorge Mendes, took part in a virtual roadshow of European clubs to see if a deal was done. Are from Paris Saint-Germain arrive City of Manchester and eventually, he returned to Old Trafford, where he signed with Manchester United in the final hours of the transfer window.
– Ten Hag talks to ESPN: New era of Man United, Ronaldo, more
– Dawson: Maguire is United’s top choice, but pressure is on
– Man United Tour Diary: Ten Hag’s intense training is paying off
When preparing to go, it is optimal for all involved. His former club, Juventus, is facing a summer of budget and sports uncertainty. United, and then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, drew up a blueprint to play a certain way, working over the summer, only to rip it up when Ronaldo landed because, especially, At this stage of his career, he’s like no other. play game. Both clubs have had disappointing seasons and while the uncertainty of the previous summer wasn’t the only reason – far from it – it certainly didn’t help.
United now have a new manager, Erik ten Hag, and they’re struggling Australia on tour, getting access to his style of play, while Ronaldo is still in Portugal, is dealing with a personal problem. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that again, we’re in suboptimal territory.
Ten Hag was probably hired based on the kind of football he played with Ajax, an agile, active 4-3-3 that relies on pressing and possession. Stylistically, for United, it represents a 180-degree turn from what they played for the most part last season. Ten Hag himself said it will take some time to get where he wants to be.
On the surface, Ronaldo fits this approach as well as Kylie Jenner fits into a UFC Octagon. With a lot of patience, preparation and prayer, it maybe just works, but out of those 3 P’s, you’ll actually only get the last one. Ten Hag has been answering questions about this summer – often with all the enthusiasm of a man making his way to a proctologist – and said what you would expect him to say: that Ronaldo is a “top player”, that “top players” can “contribute” and that he is “likely” to fit into his system . What else does he have to say?
The reality is that with the exception of the brief and quickly abandoned trials under Maurizio Sarri and Andrea Pirlo at Juventus, and under interim manager Ralf Rangnick at United, Ronaldo has not played for a team whose style of play. like Ten Hag supposedly wanted to play for years. StatsBomb data shows Ronaldo ranked last or second to last in every possible pressing or counter-attacking metric last season, among Premier League forwards and wingers who played at least 1,800 minute. In fact, including his time at Juventus and Real Madridthat’s where he’s ranked in every season since 2015-16, when that dataset began.
Let’s be clear. Not because he’s unfit or lazy; that’s not just what he was asked to do for most of his career. Most coaches who have worked with Ronaldo realize that it’s best to let him do his own thing (aka “industrial-style scoring”) and build the team around. he. Will he be able to reinvent himself at the age of 37? Sure, weird things happened, but you wouldn’t bet on it. Not in a World Cup year. Not without a full, uninterrupted pre-season. Not in a team that is rebuilding from scratch.
That’s why the drumbeats that have been hitting all summer hint at a move away from Manchester United, despite two fundamental roadblocks here.
One is money. It’s tight (almost) everywhere, and even with the 25% pay cut that automatically started when United failed to qualify for the Champions League last year, and even with the United option to him move free, his annual salary will still be in the $25 million range, which simply means he will be out of reach for most people. However, with a little ammo, that can be remedied.
The other is more difficult. Most top clubs have “systems” managers at the helm and most use many of the concepts Ten Hag wanted to use, from Pep Guardiola at Manchester City to Julian Nagelsmann at Manchester City. Bayern Munich and Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. These are long-term visionaries who stick with what got them there: they’re not going to disassemble their setup and change to a system that gets the best from Ronaldo.
In fact, there are few potential landings, clubs employ managers who are more pragmatic and can, in the long run, be able to afford to buy him. PSG, with Christophe Galtier newly appointed as coach and Luis Campos as sporting director could be one, but not with Kylian Mbappe beside Neymar and Lionel Messi. Ronaldo has been linked with Atlético Madridmaybe because of Mendes’ relationship with the club, but they had plenty of options (Alvaro Morata, Antoine GriezmannJoao Felix, Matheus Cunha) in the forwards department and in any case, the marriage of Ronaldo and Diego “Cholo” Simeone seems to be strained.
So, why not bring the elimination process to its natural conclusion and propose… back to Real Madrid?
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Ronaldo will be kicking the Champions League and therefore a bigger stage. He spent a decade at the club and was very open to rejoining them last summer. Between him and coach Carlo Ancelotti there is a sincere affection, and Ancelotti himself is a pragmatist who does not follow any system. It’s not the ideal tactical fit, but if there’s one person who can make it work, it’s Ancelotti. And, of course, between the club that missed Mbappe last month and Gareth Bale leave, cash available. Ronaldo’s relationship with club president Florentino Perez has fluctuated over the years, but Florentino is not the type to hold grudges (ask Ancelotti).
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Rob Dawson says Erik ten Hag sees a possible future after Cristiano Ronaldo’s next season at Manchester United.
Ronaldo may not be in charge of every game, but with a World Cup coming up in November (and post-World Cup failure), that could work for him. Karim Benzema will probably have to tweak his game a bit, going deeper when Ronaldo comes on, but if last season is anything to go by, that’s certainly not an issue for him. (Plus, that’s what he did for years playing Robin for Batman when they were teammates.)
These days, Ronaldo is at his best, starting wide with a hard-working central striker in the midfield. Benzema Backup – Mariano Diaz and Borja Mayoralsuppose the latter stays – nothing to write home about and obviously can’t do much of what Benzema does, but for a short time they can put up nasty chores to allow Ronaldo to do his thing.
Vinicius may have to switch to the flanks, but at his age it’s not a big question. It will take the fateful minutes for the trio Rodrygo, Player Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio, but that’s not a big deal and would happen anyway if Mbappe signed. Also, Rodrygo is still only 22, Hazard’s fitness is a permanent doubt, and Asensio, who has a year left on his contract (and funny how this all plays out, is also represented by Mendes. ), will probably move.
It’s just a scenario, something that would be interesting to be a fan. If it happens, expect it to arrive at the bottom of the window. If United started well under Ten Hag (or if they were terrible), if Ronaldo took a pay cut and agreed to a short-term contract… why not?
