Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers ever and has proved it at an older age. Ronaldo’s comeback season with Manchester United was quite the disaster with United not winning any silverware or even qualifying for the Champions League. Ronaldo did exhibit individual success by making the Premier League team of the year and being United’s top goal scorer with 24 total goals. Ronaldo has recently requested a transfer from United only after one season back at United. This might come as a shock to many, but the reality is that Ronaldo wants to be in the Champions League. Many might see this as a massive negative for United because they will lose one of their best players and best goal scorer. However, in my opinion, United should be happy about Ronaldo’s request and complete it without hesitation.

The managerial appointment of Erik ten Hag should mark a new era.  The development of new young players should be a priority. There will be extra pressure on Ten Hag to play Ronaldo and mold the team around him. This will not let Ten Hag implement his own ideas and style of play because he has to figure out how to play Ronaldo.  Ronaldo will only slow down the development of United’s young strikers including Marcus Rashford. When Ronaldo plays, United are sometimes susceptible to hero ball where they only look to Ronaldo and do not play as a team. With Ronaldo out of the team, there will be less pressure to find him and it will be easier to play as a cohesive unit, both offensively and defensively. It might seem crazy to be happy about the team’s best player asking for a transfer, but I believe that selling Ronaldo will be best for the development and future of Manchester United.