Of the last thirteen Golden Balls awarded by France Football, i.e. FIFA, twelve of them were divided between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Argentine won seven times, the Portuguese five times. He finished second six times, third once. This clearly shows which two giants the entire football world bowed to in recent years.
But you can’t stop time. On October 17th, the trophy for the past season will definitely not be accepted by the 35-year-old Messi, who for the first time since 2005 did not even fit into the 30 nominees. And with all due respect, it doesn’t look like another triumph for 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo.
What’s more, his goalscoring record from last season, namely 18 goals in the Premier League and 6 in the Champions League, is definitely not bad. But it didn’t lead to anything. Sixth place in the English league and a totally disorganized team, practically unable to compete at the end of the season. This is what the main report on Manchester United’s “success” looked like in the 2021/2022 season.
It was obvious that the idea of bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford after years was not one of the happiest.
In 2009, he left for Real Madrid for then record 94 million euros. He collected a lot of trophies at the San Bernabeu, the attractiveness of the league was based on the rivalry and the constant comparison of CR7 with Lionel Messi, the icon of Barcelona.
As their goals added to the historical statistics, so did their egos and demands for ever more lucrative contracts. While Florentino Perez cut short this development in time to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus for €116 million four years ago, Barcelona have been overwhelmed by Messi’s ongoing astronomical contract. And together with the failed one-hundred-million transfers, it dragged it into economic hell with a debt of 1.35 billion euros.
The era of the famous but selfish dinosaurs is ending
The ‘we’re not here to defend’ style of Messi, Suárez and co ran into a much more modern, team-based footballing doctrine from Bayern Munich in a Champions League clash in August 2020. The duel ended with the triumph of the German club 8:2.
In the meantime, Juventus Turin was also convinced that the era of dinosaurs at the highest level of football had already ended, who hired Cristiano Ronaldo with the belief that after two final defeats, CR7 would be the last piece that Juve had put together in previous years in the puzzle heading for triumph in the Champions League.
But that didn’t happen. Quarterfinals, Round of 16, Round of 16. Juventus did not get further in the Champions League with Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Ronaldo is a champion who guarantees you some 30 to 35 goals per season. Such a player increases your chances of winning, but also brings with him something that breaks up the cohesion of the cabin. In any case, I still see his contribution as more positive than negative,” his exclusive guest Pavel Nedvěd, vice president of Juventus, maintained decorum in the Water Bearers podcast.
He also emphasized the Portuguese’s contribution to increasing the attractiveness of the club in terms of global fan interest or sales of jerseys with the number 7.
However, last summer Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford after years. He already cost only 15 million euros, but it was still a record value in his age category.
He pleased United fans with a total of 24 goals last season, but coach Ralf Rangnick could not be pleased with the disparity of the team, where – to put it simply – everyone did what they wanted. Not only Ronaldo, but also Paul Pogba and others.
Rangnick left, new coach Erik ten Hag from Ajax Amsterdam arrived. He rebuilds the squad and continues Rangnick’s quest to build a team at Old Trafford that will return to Europe’s top flight. However, it is now dominated by units in which great individuals put their potential fully into teamwork and the coach’s tactical plans.
Kevin de Bruyne in Manchester City, Mohamed Salah in Liverpool do it, for example… and we could go on. Today’s hottest soccer stars have “upgraded” to this team model. They participate in the press, the synergy of the transition phase, they return to the defense, they follow the coach’s instructions to the letter.
In comparison, Cristiano Ronaldo is simply “old school” and no one will remake him. At the age of 37, he is in great physical condition, but no one can expect dozens of sprints per match from him.
Expert: The problem is not only in defending
His greatest strength lies, of course, in the routine ending. His efficiency in converting chances was and is fantastic. But football is not only about scoring goals, even though it may seem so to many at first glance.
“It’s not just a question of not defending well. Ronaldo does not move properly in matches. United get the ball, but he is in an unusable position at that moment,” points out Jakub Dobiáš, an expert in football data analysis from the company 11Hacks, on the Portuguese’s shortcomings.
At other times, the savior syndrome is ignited in Ronaldo and he goes deep into the field for the ball, with the idea that he will probably take it forward like Diego Maradona half a century ago.
But the coaches definitely don’t want that from him. He knows that this is not his role. When he embarks on this escapade, he cannot finish on the tip, which is his job. Tactically, CR7 is obviously very difficult to coach with his ego.
“And he also makes a lot of turnovers. He keeps forcing himself to finish, even from unprepared positions,” Jakub Dobiáš noticed not only in the data outputs. When the rebound is won by the opponent, he can of course threaten a quick counter-attack. “In his entire career, Ronaldo scored only 10 percent of his goals from positions outside the box, his strength is inside the box (penalty area),” adds Dobiáš.
And he continues with another thought: “In addition, United and Ronaldo are very readable for opponents. When CR7 is on the pitch, everyone is looking for Ronaldo with their passes because he is a star and a personality. It is then easier for the opponent to defend against it.”
Ronaldo’s arrival at Old Trafford visibly dampened Bruno Fernandes or Marcus Rashford.
The reunion between CR7 and Manchester United just isn’t going nearly as well on the pitch as either side might have imagined a year ago.
Since his arrival in Manchester, Erik the Hag has always repeated how important Cristiano is to him and that he firmly counts on him in his plans. However, in the real world he has now been benched.
Even Cristiano Ronaldo has apparently sensed that this is not it. His agent Jorge Mendez completed a tour of Europe’s big clubs in the summer. And he was looking for options for the Portuguese’s resettlement. But he failed.
In the media, the whole matter was presented in the style that although CR7 likes Manchester immensely, he would like to play in the Champions League at any cost and improve his famous record of 183 games / 140 goals in it.
Thanks, but we don’t want to
The story of which Champions League participant will fulfill Ronaldo’s dreams has been a prominent media agenda for the entire continent throughout the summer.
But it was gradually heard from all sides: No.
“Such a transfer would not fit into our philosophy,” said Oliver Kahn, once a great goalkeeper, now one of the main bosses of Bayern Munich, decently.
“Ronaldo? Again? At the age of 38?” Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid, dismissed the fans’ thoughts about the 37-year-old forward. And he deliberately exaggerated Ronaldo’s age.
“I don’t know who made up this story about Cristiano, but it’s practically impossible for him to come here,” said Enrique Cerezo, the head of Atlético Madrid.
And many others spoke in a similar spirit. It already looked as if Ronaldo’s journey to his roots would be completed with a return to Sporting Lisbon, from where he came on his first mission to United years ago.
According to some British media, coach Rúben Amorim should have threatened the management that if he brought Ronaldo, he would immediately resign. Amorim denied these rumors at the press conference, however, CR7 did not return “home”.
He remained in a substitute role at Old Trafford. Why?
The equation taking into account Ronaldo’s demand for a high level of sport and the ambition of his possible new club, as well as United’s demand for severance pay and Ronaldo’s salary expectations, simply did not find its solution. And what is important: in addition to Ronaldo’s undeniable strengths, there are also obvious limits that the current engagement at Old Trafford has revealed.
A club that would bet “all-in” on Ronaldo and submit everything to him in terms of economics and sport was clearly not found.
Except for offers from Saudi Arabia, which Ronaldo did not accept.
The transfer window leading to Europe’s major leagues closed on Thursday, with the squad lists for the UEFA Cup competitions announced today.
Will CR7 take on a new role?
Cristiano Ronaldo sat on the Manchester United bench in Leicester on Thursday evening, by the way, near the young Czech substitute goalkeeper Matěj Kovář. Unlike him, Ronaldo went into the game as a substitute in the 68th minute.
It is not written anywhere that he will not be in the starting line-up against Arsenal on Sunday and that he will not score a hat-trick against the reigning leader of the table. It is undoubtedly within his capabilities. But the days when he was the main hero of every competition he entered, and all the teams he played for hung on him, are clearly gone.
It is up to him whether and how he accepts his new role. At least until January, when the transfer window opens again, he has nothing else left.
