Are Manchester United Right to Keep Hold of Ronaldo?

So, it is confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo will be staying at Old Trafford. The Man Utd player has faced this question in many forms. “Would you stay considering…? Age? New managers? Better offers? Personal problems? Etc.”

But was it the right decision for Manchester United to keep a hold of their best player? On face value, the answer is obvious. Of course, they should. But Ronaldo’s getting on and he has signed up for another 2-year contract where an injury could take him out of the game for good. Should Man Utd have swapped him out for one or two younger players?

No, because he’s becoming entitled

It’s part of the territory of being named one of the best players in the world, but Ronaldo’s getting a big head on his shoulders. Mainly, it’s becoming clear that he doesn’t like to be handled.

He was famously very fond of ex-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and defended him when there were calls for the manager to be sacked. Which is fine, until you hear about Ole’s management style. He had a softly, softly approach that allowed players to come and go as they pleased, and which was diametrically opposed to interim manager Ralf Rangnick’s “drill sergeant” approach.

Ronaldo didn’t like Rangnick and said as much while he was still in the position – a lot. While other players like Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga thrived off of the more intense training, Ronaldo wanted to be left alone.

Which brings us to new Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag, who has confirmed he is bringing the model of training he enjoyed at Ajax to the Man Utd team. Of course, Ronaldo isn’t happy and has told the press he’s fine with staying at Old Trafford as long as ten Hag keeps his revolutionary new training model far from him.

Whether he likes it or not, ten Hag is coming, and bringing his Ajax model with him. And whether he likes it or not, Ronaldo is part of the team. It’s obvious to see a clash of personalities and egos in the future. Find Man Utd tickets at seatpick.com/manchester-united-tickets to see for yourself how it will all pan out.

Yes, because he’s still the best

Cristiano Ronaldo has proven in the past year that he is not quite over the hill yet. Over a Premier League season plagued by managerial changes, training regime changes, personal trauma, and results of only reaching 6th place on the Premier League table, Ronaldo came out as the reigning champion. He is credited with carrying his team to that 6th place, and deservedly so, considering he scored 18 goals in 29 league matches.
It’s really hard to argue with results like that.

Conclusion

Ultimately, it probably wasn’t a great financial decision. It’s easy to see an injury in Ronaldo’s future and even easier to see a combustion of personalities between him and ten Hag. But until they happen, which could be avoided with some luck and some calming meditation from Ronaldo, the Man Utd team gets to enjoy still owning one of the best players in the world, because even an aging best player in the world is a cut above the rest.