Cristiano Ronaldo’s latest Manchester United comeback was less a cause for celebration than a reason to breathe a sigh of relief.
With significantly less fanfare than a year ago, Ronaldo rolled back into town to sit in on a team meeting and prepare for a return to the grass by the end of the week.
It felt a tad reluctant given what we know now about where he’d rather be. Yet it creates a path to what recruitment sources now feel is the most likely outcome: Ronaldo remaining at Old Trafford until the end of the two-year contract signed amid a heady mixture of hope and nostalgia in 2021.
Having failed to generate sufficient interest from Bayern Munich, Napoli or Chelsea, Atletico Madrid – despite the reservations of a significant number of their supporters – have nibbled at the Ronaldo bait and indicated a willingness to do a deal if the price is right and he takes a substantial wage cut. That feels like a stretch, even if Diego Simeone’s side can offer the fast-track to the Champions League he is looking for.
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Any attempt to sign him will almost certainly run up against a firm stance from his current club, who want to find an accommodation with “Team Ronaldo” that ensures he stays without fanning the flames of a combustible situation.
The Portuguese has made it clear that he doesn’t want to lower himself to play Europa League football, but United are driven by hard-headed practicality as much as they are a desire to see Ronaldo have one last hurrah before departing for pastures new.
Finding a striker capable of replicating Ronaldo’s goalscoring impact within their budget in just five weeks – and from a standing start – is a tall order indeed. Just ask their Premier League rivals how difficult the striker market is this summer, when the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ivan Toney are being spoken of as £60m and £40m forwards respectively.
Never say never, of course. His agent, Jorge Mendes, could pull a rabbit out of the hat but Ronaldo is surely not going to torch his legacy with a wildcat strike which would step things up considerably. His only option is that a club makes Manchester United an offer they can’t refuse.
That Ronaldo arrived at Carrington shortly after Sir Alex Ferguson, who was there for a scheduled board meeting, felt like an image that belongs to a bygone era when United used to rule the waves. They still rule the airwaves – the psychodrama revolving around the Frenkie de Jong saga is proof of their ability to command column inches on the most interminable transfer story of the summer – but there is a footballing void that Erik ten Hag is attempting to fill.
The early signs are positive. i has been told the atmosphere among the squad is better than it was at any time last season, with Ten Hag’s attempt to instil new standards among the players going down well with most of the squad.
There is broad enthusiasm for the higher-tempo game the former Ajax boss wants to play at Old Trafford and the meticulous Ten Hag is ready to integrate Ronaldo into his plans.
Many feel the club might benefit from a clean break from their most high-profile player, who remains an exceptional goalscorer but has been part of an unmistakable malaise at both Juventus and Old Trafford in his last two career moves. The new, Ten Hag Manchester United needs to be more about the team than individuals.
It says it all about Ten Hag’s attention to detail and reluctance to leave anything to chance that he has an alternative vision that doesn’t incorporate the storied striker. But as Ronaldo’s return swipes the headlines just a week from the big Premier League kick off, it feels increasingly like he will be playing out the season at Old Trafford.
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