Cristiano Ronaldo and the importance of self-respect
Manchester United need to put their foot down.
This is the second of these quick opinion pieces that I’ve done and both have now been on Cristiano Ronaldo. Quite honestly given he’s not played a minute under Ten Hag, that seems like two too many.
However, the storm that Ronaldo has created around United this summer, unfortunately, can’t be left alone especially as the fanbase is fractured around how things should proceed.
‘No one’s bigger than the club’ - That phrase or words to that effect is the phrase that Sir Alex Ferguson uttered on multiple occasions to justify the sale of stars.
David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Roy Keane, Paul Pogba… the list goes on. However, there was one player for whom he made an exception.1
In 2008, Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to leave Old Trafford. This wasn’t a private conversation between the manager and the player - the situation was very much out in the open.
Many fans will remember the famous Guardian headline ‘I am a slave, says Ronaldo as he pushes for Madrid move’, as he gave a television interview reiterating his desire to join Real Madrid.
Ferguson however knew he had a supernova on his hands, so instead of following the rule that had served him so well throughout his career that ‘No one’s bigger than the club’, he relented; begging him to let the team bask in his light for one more season and then he would let him leave.
Ronaldo agreed and United won the Premier League again in 2008/09 before he left in a world record deal to Real Madrid, but that set the wheels in motion for the issues that the modern side is having to deal with. The idea that a player was bigger than United was born.
Now I am not going to criticise his ambition, it was clear from Day 1 that Ronaldo’s end goal was to spend the best years of his career at Real Madrid, and I’m just happy that the road to get to that point was spent in Manchester. But that is where his story with United should have ended.
‘Always leave them wanting more’, is one of many phrases showman P.T. Barnum coined over his long and problematic career (and no amount of Hugh Jackman can, unfortunately, change that).
And United fans wanted more, every year that went by the rumour mill swirled that Ronaldo wanted to return to the club and finish what he started.
But that sets unrealistic expectations, Ronaldo had won everything that could be won (bar the Europa League but maybe this year ay) while at Old Trafford so what more could he do. Furthermore, the United that he left no longer existed; the unstoppable force had been stopped.
See during his time at United, Ronaldo had earned respect. His performances in the red shirt had started his legend and his time at Real Madrid had only amplified it.
But it’s like when a musician or film star makes it big elsewhere, his hometown becomes obsessed with celebrating their role in helping him ‘become a star’.
So fast forward to 2021, Ronaldo wants to leave Juventus as they have missed out on the title for the first time in nearly a decade, but he is 36 years old and though he has successfully delayed it thus far, he seems to finally be entering the twilight of his career.
He needs a club however and quick. Takers seem to be slim but then ‘Manchester City are suddenly interested’ (the quotation marks are because they weren’t as reported by every major news outlet).
United of course couldn’t let this happen. It would be like if Rainier Wolfcastle left Springfield for 10 years and then decided to live in Shelbyville instead, it would be embarrassing and rubbed in their face constantly.
So like in the 80s movies and tv shows we all loved, the ageing musician returned to his hometown where everybody loved and respected him and the town was in dire straights since he left, so could the musician play one last concert and bring happiness and prosperity back to the town?
Well, the answer is no. United came 6th, scored their worst points tally of the Premier League era and now will play in the Europa League next season. As Thanos said in Infinity War, ‘Reality is often disappointing’.
The warnings were there that this wouldn’t work out, but that’s the problem when you look at someone through rose-tinted glasses, all the red flags just look like flags.2
And now Ronaldo wants to leave.
Respect is a two-way street. I am not going to dispute that Ronaldo had some family issues this summer, because the club accepted that as a reason, and until proved otherwise I am not going to make any claims to the contrary.
But during his three-week absence, Jorge Mendes was obviously trying to find any destination possible for his client. Chelsea and Bayern Munich were the two major contenders with Barcelona also mooted, however, all three decided they were better off without him.
Atletico Madrid now seems like the only option for the player if he wants to leave Old Trafford, but it’s not yet clear whether that move will materialise (and if it does he will likely burn the bridges he had with Real Madrid).
However, while this has been happening, United have been trying to drag themselves back to where they were. Transfers have been made (though more need to happen) and Erik ten Hag has been brought in to oversee a massive shift in the club’s culture and style of play.
Ten Hag has also reiterated on many occasions his desire to work with Ronaldo as he appreciates his ambition and ability, but this doesn’t seem to have slowed the player’s desire to leave.
But it’s very hard to mend a sinking ship while someone is telling everyone that is the case.
So my question is if Ronaldo loved United the way that many fans think he did, why is he not willing to try and get them back to where they need to be?
The answer is because while you respect him massively, he does not respect the club as much as you believe he does. And it seems his only loyalty really lies with Ferguson rather than United, hence why the manager has turned up at Carrington as crunch talks begin.
United was just the vehicle that allowed the world to be shown Cristiano Ronaldo in his eyes and when they were spent, he moved elsewhere.
Some fans are in the bargaining stage of denial however; Ronaldo only is saying he wants to leave because he’s trying to get the club to wake up and act seriously.
That however seems unlikely given that Ronaldo currently has one year left on his contract and according to reports he ‘vetoed’ the appointment of Antonio Conte, a coach that could have possibly got United in shape to compete in the short time the club have left (at the expense of a lot).
If he was even half the player that he was when he was at United or in the early years I understand some pandering, but he’s not and for a large stretch of games last season his presence actively hindered the team, even if the team, in general, was not great.
And it was made even more difficult to drop him when firstly Sir Alex Ferguson was filmed after Everton stating that Ronaldo needed to play and then later on in the season under Ralf Rangnick, our famous number 7 kicked off after being substituted against Brentford, annoyed that he couldn’t increase his own personal goal tally.
So now there are only two options as Ronaldo has returned to Carrington with Mendes in tow to discuss his future.
He either leaves or he stays (which only seems likely if no other clubs want him), but he gets special privileges and gives an interview where he says to the fans’ faces that he never wanted to leave, he loves the club and he has always been fully committed to getting United back to where they need to be, despite the clear evidence to the contrary.
United are unfortunately stuck between a rock and a hard place in terms of the transfer, the power is in Ronaldo’s hands, but this is where we need to see self-respect from Ten Hag.
They shouldn’t beg or grovel, they should treat him as just another player and then maybe we can remove the asterisk of ‘except Cristiano Ronaldo’ from the statement ‘No one’s bigger than the club’ once again.
You could argue Eric Cantona and to some extent Wayne Rooney but I think in both cases the circumstances are slightly different.
This is a very good quote from Bojack Horseman, so this footnote is me telling you to watch Bojack Horseman.