Premier League: Is Ronaldo's fairytale return to Manchester United over?

AFTER victories over Liverpool, Arsenal, and on Wednesday, Spurs, one would assume that Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag would have relished facing the media after the game. Despite an impressive home rally and two excellent goals against the north London title contenders, the Dutchman, instead, had to field a hail of questions about unused substitute Cristiano Ronaldo, who stormed down the tunnel at Old Trafford early, rather than share the victory celebrations with his team-mates at full-time.

Ronaldo was named on the bench against Spurs and watched as his team-mates took control of the game thanks to second-half goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes.

After ten Hag had made it clear he would not be coming on, Ronaldo made an early exit down the tunnel rather than share the spoils of victory with the rest of the team.

Ten Hag told the media, “Today I enjoyed the performance. We are celebrating this victory and now we have to recover from this and we have a big game against Chelsea, the Premier League is so exciting.

“I have seen him (leaving), I didn’t speak to him after. I will deal with that tomorrow." 

And he did. Ronaldo's act of petulance saw him dropped entirely from the team for today's game away to Chelsea.

It all seemed so different when the Portugal legend completed a sensational return to Manchester United in the summer of 2021. And, to be fair, he did impress in large parts of last season, scoring 24 goals in all competitions.

Decisions

But with ten Hag's arrival at the club, it appears he has reservations about Ronaldo, only starting him in two of United’s 10 Premier League games so far this season. A fact that does not rest well on the shoulders of the club’s record goal scorer and highest-paid players.

Ten Hag inherited the situation with Ronaldo, but one could argue that the ‘to play or not to play’ and ‘should he stay or should he go’ debate has led to a toxic atmosphere within the club. A debate that is now coming to a head under the tenure of the former Ajax manager.

United are in that rare situation of having one of the best players, if not still the best player in the world in their ranks but unable or unwilling to find a winning strategy that includes him without poisoning the waters of relationships with the rest of the talent in the club.

It’s a truly unusual set of circumstances. Why wouldn’t you want to use your top scorer on every possible occasion? Roy Keane has raised the issue time and time again during his pundit duties with Sky and beyond.

There is no denying the Corkman’s logic, he’s the top scorer, your top wage earner, the winner of five-Ballon d’Ors, and still dominant at club and international level, surely he should be the first name on the teamsheet each week?

But then there is the reality that United, these days, seem to struggle more when he is in the team than when he is outside of the equation. Sure he will score a goal, but it is of little satisfaction if the side goes on to lose the game.

And that is the situation facing ten Hag. Results tend to go their way when Ronaldo is absent or plays a limited role. It is like, in the absence of Ronaldo, his teammates are free to express the true extent of their talents.

That certainly seems to be the case for Bruno Fernandes, who steps up his performance when he steps into the space usually occupied by Ronaldo.

Future

Ronaldo released a statement on Thursday stating, "As I've always done throughout my career, I try to live and play respectfully towards my colleagues, my adversaries and my coaches. That hasn't changed. I haven't changed.

"Unfortunately that's not always possible and sometimes the heat of the moment gets the best of us."

While the statement does strike the right conciliatory words with the United camp, it does seem that ten Hag, and the club in general, are ready to move on without their once most treasured asset.

It's telling that in United's most important games so far this season, Ronaldo was not really involved, which United all won.

It now looks clear that United are prepared for the transition to life after Ronaldo. His most recent strop, added to his refusal to turn up at pre-season training, has sped up his inevitable departure.