Cristiano Ronaldo’s blockbuster return to Manchester United in 2021 didn’t have the fairytale ending fans were dreaming of.
The legendary Portuguese forward made an iconic return to Old Trafford 12 years after he left to join Real Madrid.
It always felt inevitable that Cristiano Ronaldo would reunite with the Red Devils for one last dance at the Theatre of Dreams before hanging up his boots for good, but his return still seemed surreal at the time.
Ronaldo scored 24 goals during his first campaign back at Manchester United but the season didn’t go exactly to plan as manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked in November just months after welcoming his former teammate back.
Ralf Rangnick arrived to replace Solskjaer but Ronaldo was a terrible fit for the German’s style of play which was focused on energetic pressing. Things then went from bad to worse for Ronaldo when Erik ten Hag arrived in the summer.
Ronaldo fell out with Ten Hag after criticising the United boss, and he followed it up with an explosive interview with Piers Morgan about the club ahead of his departure to Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo claimed in his interview that Ten Hag didn’t give him the respect he deserves, hence why he stormed out against Tottenham after being left on the bench.
There continues to be a sour feeling about Ronaldo’s exit two years on, and the 39-year-old apperared to take a swipe at his former club – and manager – when speaking to the press.
Ronaldo spoke to the media ahead of Portugal’s start of the Nations League and said “Until the end of my career, I will always have the mindset that I will be a starter.
“I will always respect the decisions, not only of the coach, but at the clubs I played for I have always respected them… once or twice, they also behaved badly towards me (laughs).
“But seriously, whenever there is professional ethics, I will always respect the coaches’ decisions. When it goes against professional ethics, there can always be controversy, but that’s separate.”
Cristiano Ronaldo was a bad fit for Erik ten Hag
At 36 years old, Ronaldo had proven that he was still capable of performing at a high level in the Premier League.
Unfortunately for him, Ten Hag was brought in by the club to try and implement an energetic and high-pressing style of play – an impossible task when Ronaldo was at the spearhead of United’s attack.
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His exit could, and should, have been handled better by everyone involved as Ronaldo’s interview will forever leave a stain on his otherwise brilliant legacy at United.
But ultimately it was never going to work out between the pair and moving Ronaldo on was the right decision at the time. He can now put his full attention on hunting down 1,000 career goals.
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