Is this the end for Cristiano Ronaldo?
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“He has never been a problem. You have the best striker in history in our team, he cannot be a problem.”
Almost everyone on planet earth seems to know the man from Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo.
He has been a defender’s worst nightmare for 20 years now, scoring some of the greatest goals the world has ever seen, breaking countless records, and winning five Ballon d’Or’s in the process. However, the 37-year-old has found that his fairytale return to Manchester United has instead been more of a nightmare.
After leaving Juventus in the summer of 2021, Ronaldo has watched his lackluster Man U side finish in sixth place in the English Premier League at the end of the 21/22 campaign that saw him finish with a respectable 24 goals in all competitions (EPL and Champions League). The sixth-place finish means the Red Devils will spend the 2022/23 Campaign in the Europa League. This, of course, did not sit well with Ronaldo, who, in response to his team’s poor end to the season, demanded that Man U sell him to a different club.
All throughout Europe, there were whispers of some of the biggest clubs’ interests in the all-time goalscorer’s services. Chelsea, Sporting, Ronaldo’s former rival Atletico Madrid and most recently, Napoli. Despite Ronaldo wanting to leave, it appears no teams are too keen on making number 7 one of their own.
His age, combined with the fact he has had a dip in quality since his days at Juventus and Real Madrid, has scared clubs away. With the transfer window deadline coming up right around the corner, it appears Ronaldo might be spending this next season at Old Trafford.
One would assume he would still have a spot in the starting XI, considering how the team needs help up front. However, coach Erik ten Hag may not see it that way. In all four of Man U’s EPL games so far, Ronaldo has only started in one, which was the dreadful 4-0 defeat to Brentford, where Manchester United looked flatter than a bottle of Coca-Cola that was left out for too long.
Since the start of the season, it seems that Hag prefers Rashford playing the number nine position compared to Ronaldo. It also looks as if Manchester United has played better with Ronaldo on the bench, proving he may not match well with the team’s chemistry. So now, the world is asking what’s next for the 37-year-old.
Will Ten Hag have a change of heart and give CR7 a second chance as a day-to-day starter? Or, lastly, will he wash away on the bench? It’s a bitter pill for Ronaldo to swallow that he is getting up there in age, and maybe his best days are behind him. That, and the thought of playing in the Europa League for the first time since 2002, appears to be why he is doing everything in his power to leave the club that once turned him into a superstar.
He is determined to show the world he still has it in him, and this is not quite the twilight of a glorious career just yet. Only time will tell what happens to CR7 next, but one thing is for sure. The 2022 World Cup will almost definitely be his last.