On August 27, 2021, Manchester United confirmed the return of their prodigal son.
Just over 12 months later, United’s relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo has changed beyond recognition. And Eric Ten Hag needs to manage it very carefully.
At the King Power Stadium on September 1, the 37-year-old started off the bench and came into the final 22 minutes of the 1-0 win over Leicester.
His most important contribution was an overhead kick that bounced off the far post.
In five games so far this season, the illustrious Portuguese hasn’t scored a goal or assist.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford came after days of intense speculation, first about a move to Manchester City, before United announced their interest and Sir Alex Ferguson spoke to the player who considers the Scotsman the father of football.
The tweet in which United declared “Welcome home, Cristiano” has been liked 1.9 million times. The club added an additional 1 million followers on Instagram within two hours of announcing the signing.
Two days later, United beat Wolverhampton away from home. Two weeks later, amid delightful scenes from the moment he arrived at Old Trafford to the moment he left, Ronaldo scored two goals in his first appearance, The 4-1 win over Newcastle propelled his new club to the top of the Premier League.
However, there were red flags ahead of Ronaldo’s return. And shortly thereafter, some began to wonder if United had done the right thing.
Coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did not enter the 2021-22 season with a perfect squad. But he is getting closer to his ideal team.
Jadon Sancho was brought in as the wide attacking player he craved. The weeks of persuading Edinson Cavani to stay at Old Trafford began to bear fruit in May when the Uruguayan signed a one-year extension.
Raphael Varane joined from Real Madrid to become the latest defender trying to secure United’s leaky defense line, although some have questioned if he really is the captain they need given the amount of time he has spent playing alongside Madrid captain Sergio Ramos.
Defending midfielder Solskjaer wasn’t delivered what he wanted, but even City’s Pep Guardiola didn’t get everything he wanted.
Ronaldo’s arrival changed the whole dynamic. Its only effective position could be as the number nine. In one fell swoop, that drastically reduced the number of matches Cavani was likely to play, quite apart from the fact that the Uruguayan had to give up his shirt number.
For someone who would have gone without Solskjaer, it was a humbling experience. No wonder his contribution last season was spotty.
It also means United’s ‘ninth-placed’ Mason Greenwood has been moved to a wide position to compete with Sancho. At the point where Greenwood became unavailable for selection due to off-field problems, he started 16 Premier League games compared to Sancho’s 10.
Ronaldo wasn’t able to play the high tempo game Solskjaer was looking to offer, so a compromise was made in playing style.
Solskjaer had a plan to leave Ronaldo out of his team every once in a while. However, the first time he did so, against Everton on 2 October, the controversy over the move was colossal despite being just three days away from a Champions League away game.
The Norwegian then said he had to “choose the right moments” to use Ronaldo. He started all seven matches thereafter until Solskjaer was sacked on November 21.
The only times he was left on the bench for the remainder of the Premier League season were at Chelsea on 28 November, when Michael Carrick made the decision, and at Burnley on 8 February.
Ronaldo’s appearance at Turf Moor was overshadowed by the fact that he ignored the traveling fans at the final whistle and walked straight into the United dressing room at the other end of the pitch.
On April 18, Ronaldo and his girlfriend announced the death of their child during the birth of their child. Ronaldo played - and scored - against Arsenal the following weekend, having missed the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool. On May 7, United lost 4-0 at Brighton to end any hope of qualifying for this season’s Champions League.
After that, Ronaldo missed last season’s final due to injury, as well as United’s preliminary tour of Thailand and Australia for personal reasons. By the time he appeared in the Old Trafford friendly with Rayo Vallecano on July 31, his desire to move away from United was well known.
The grounds, which were established, were functionally oriented. He still wanted to compete for major honors. There was a feeling that the chance of doing that at United was a mirage.
But the expected offers did not materialize. There was one from Saudi Arabia but it was rejected. And the latest rumors were related to the first professional sports club, Club Atlético de Madrid, Napoli and Ronaldo, Sporting Lisbon. But when the deadline passed in all the major European leagues, Ronaldo remained at United, and his stature weakened significantly from where he was when he returned.
Ronaldo has been sitting on the bench for more Premier League matches this season than he has been throughout last season, and there has been nothing more than a grumble from the opposition telling his story.
Ten Hag is in a much stronger position to tackle the five-time Ballon d’Or winner from Solskjaer or his interim replacement Ralf Rangnick.
Solskjaer publicly announced his support for Ronaldo’s return. But really, he had no other choice.
It was touted among United’s influencers that the idea of Ronaldo turning to Manchester City was more than accepted. Even at his age, the combination of the former Real Madrid player’s production - he finished the previous season as Serie A top scorer - and commercial drag force was irresistible.
He never came to that, but chances are, if Solskjaer had challenged the move, his concerns would have been ignored.
Ten Hag is in a completely different situation. Instead of the Dutchman finding a system that fits Ronaldo, Ronaldo has to fit his system. If that means coming off the bench and starting matches in the Europa League - a competition the 37-year-old hasn’t played - until the World Cup, that’s what it should be.
Ten Hag will probably approach the situation with more precision.
When asked after the Leicester match if one of the greatest players could be about to become a bit part player, Ten Hag replied: “It’s really early in the season and we have a squad. We have over 11 junior players, that’s what you see now, Now players on the bench can play in a week, two weeks or three.”
Ten Hag should also lift Ronaldo’s mood. While BBC Sport was told that only a player’s exit could remove the negativity that has surrounded the club, words have been uttered in the belief that a breakup is possible. In the end, this did not happen.
United’s sources have rejected efforts to absolve Ronaldo of all blame for the disastrous end to last season. But in truth, no one can really know if Ronaldo is the reason United were no worse than what they ended up with last season, or if it was one of the main reasons for his poor form.
Now, for the first time since arriving at Old Trafford as a teenager, Ronaldo has to prove himself.
Could he be a team player, something his solo brilliance meant he didn’t need much attention for long?
Can he maintain the facade of being supportive of his teammates from the bench?
Can Ronaldo, 37, once again score goals for a team that attaches importance to pressing the opponent?
It’s been 10 weeks since the Premier League’s World Cup break. It won’t start again until December 26, a week before the January transfer window opens.
Most people, probably including the man himself, did not expect Ronaldo to spend that time as a Manchester United player.
How he handles it would be great.
