This is how I see it too.
Ronaldo is somewhat out of options I think - he wants a CL club - realistically those who can afford his wages, probably don’t need or want the headache - PSG, City, Chelsea. So either he needs to lower his wage demands and go to some other CL club who are willing to take his ego on, or get ready to play Thursday nights.
His pressing stats have fallen year on year of late, he’s still obviously very dangerous, but to maximise his output, the whole squad has to do the running for him and sing to his tune, and that’s just not worth the money and damage it does to the longer term future of the squad.
He caused nothing but bother at Juve and nothing but bother at United because of his ego and demands. Couldn’t happen to nicer clubs to be fair - maybe he should move to the Ev and help see them flushed.
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I think it’s actually even more stark than that. I don’t think its just wages that would stop a prestige club, the level of which he’s surely eyeing, coming in for him at this stage of the window. It’s as such about their football plan as it is money. Someone like Bayern might still be interested in him if he was wiling to be an impact sub (on a commensurae salary), but without that I dont see a club of that caliber being interested. So without that I think the only other option he has is not just take a salary cut, but move down a level to a side like Napoli. Someone who might be in the CL, but who might consider getting into the KO rounds a success.
Either way I don’t think the move he seems to be envisioning exists - being an important player on a team competing for trophies. He’s either got to lie in the bed he made, or accept a reduction in status to get out.
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Yep, reality setting in. He is not nearly as valuable a commodity (ugh) to competitive teams as he thinks he still is.
I could see a move back to Portugal, to a CL team, on massively reduced wages. He drops down to a modest CL team (an upgrade on Man Utd) but saves face a bit as the whole thing is something of a homecoming.
If not that, he stays at Man Utd, on a high wage, and while he still has a goalscoring threat, his ongoing presence will hinder the new thing that must emerge if Ten Hag is to be a success.
Love it, no matter what happens.
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Got to hope he stays and makes things harder at manure for another season.
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Dammit, this made me spit coffee on my desk
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@Zoran 32? he is far too young to sign for them.
Portillo already does this.
This piece is great - drawing parallels between Moyes’ pre-season and the current one
- sent out to thailand without their best player and the trip being overshadowed with question about whether said players was going to leave
- Coming on the job at the same time as the new man responsible for player acquisition
- A summer strategy based around bringing in a CM controller from Barca (who ultimately didnt come because he didnt want to play for Utd)
- Resorting to pilfering players from the new manager’s old club
They won that birthday cake against us… all is well.
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Ronaldo seems to have started a one-man game of musical chairs that isn’t going to end well. It would appear none of the clubs he was interested are interested in him. Would he go to a Pot 2 or even a Pot 3 side that won’t offer him a fraction of his current pay?
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Well, that would actually be an ok solution. At least he’d have a fully functional team, playing the way he wants.
Have they won the league yet?
I remember us winning a similar one of ‘contest’ and ‘trophy’ on a pre season tour some years back. I seem to recall Kolo Toure being presented with the ‘trophy’ and the look on his face was sort of “am I really expected to hoist this thing up like it means something”? 
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I do wonder where the good teams put this stuff like I didn’t see anything crap like this on the tour but as you said we will have them.
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i think we should go on the offensive and praise them like fuck. Anyone on social media should be saying they are a scary wonderful team at the peak of their careers.
everyone tell them how they play better without ronaldo.
Deluded pricks will lap it up and be relegated by september.
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Thing is most of their reasonable fans see it for what it is.
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yeah but reasonable united fans i can count on one hand … plus the press lap up social media. speak to the masses.
personally think united players are slightly more delusional than the fans.
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True, I don’t say a lot about football on mine but if some visual Liverpool fans want to pretend it’s the end of an era go ahead.
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