Premier League

Commentary: Cristiano Ronaldo’s time is over

Published

4 months ago

November 14, 2022

Cristiano Ronaldo is annoyed by Erik ten Hag and has now made it very clear in an interview.

Cristiano Ronaldo sharply criticizes his club Manchester United. The multiple world footballer only underlines that his time is long gone. With the Red Devils, the question remains what could have been if his selfishness hadn’t stood in the way. A comment.

Five-time Champions League winner, five-time world footballer, European champion – but currently no more than a bench player who behaves like a small child: Cristiano Ronaldo has the best days of his career behind him. You don’t have to have followed Manchester United to see that. His explosive interview is enough to recognize that a footballer is speaking who clearly lives in the past.

Where “accounting” is written on it, it doesn’t always contain accounting. In this case, however, the Portuguese really took a hard stance on Manchester United. In an interview with the Sun gave Ronaldo a deep look. “I haven’t seen any development at the club since Sir Alex (Ferguson; editor’s note) left,” he said. “Nothing has changed.”

But ironically, the 37-year-old himself is the best argument for his own thesis. An overpriced, aging professional who has long past his prime returns to the Red Devils and fails to be the savior they had hoped for. That didn’t come as a surprise.

Even at Juventus Turin, Ronaldo was no longer the player he once was. But he still claimed to be the one around whom all the cogs of the club turn. Proponents of the superstar justifiably argue with the bare numbers. For Juve he scored 101 times in 134 games and prepared 22 more goals. In his second tenure at Manchester United, he has played 54 competitive games and has 27 goals and five assists.

Next scandal: The long list of Ronaldo’s antics at United

1/19

Cristiano Ronaldo caused trouble in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur – not for the first time in months. A review.

2/19

APRIL 2022: After United’s 1-0 loss to Everton, CR7 smashed a fan’s mobile phone. This emerged from a recording, presumably from a trailer. There you could see how Ronaldo throws his mobile phone on the ground when leaving the field.

3/19

United investigated the incident, and Merseyside Police also investigated. Manchester had not been able to convince again at Goodison Park. At that point United had just one win from their last five Premier League games.

4/19

CR7 apologized for his freak out. “I would like to apologize for my outburst and, if possible, invite this fan to watch a game at Old Trafford as a show of fair play and sportsmanship,” he wrote on Instagram.

5/19

But Jake’s mother, as the fan was called, declined the invitation: “We politely declined the offer to go to a United game because Jake doesn’t want to go there and he doesn’t want to see Ronaldo either,” said them at the Liverpool Echo.

6/19

And further: “If someone had attacked him on the street and then invited us to dinner, we wouldn’t go either. Why should we do that now just because it’s Cristiano Ronaldo?”

7/19

In October, the Liverpool Echo wrote that Ronaldo had accepted the English FA’s misconduct charge. However, he would defend himself against a suspension. “He won’t accept it,” said Ten Hag. exit open.

8/19

AUGUST 2022: Ronaldo, who is willing to make a change, played his first game for United in twelve weeks in the preparatory game against Rayo Vallecano (1-1). However, pictures on social networks showed CR7 leaving the stadium during the game.

9/19

The Spanish Mundo Deportivo claims to have learned the reason for this: Ronaldo wanted to escape the press so as not to have to talk about his behavior in the previous weeks. He had previously missed the preparation tour to Thailand and Australia.

10/19

Officially, this was for personal reasons. On his return, he arrived at the club with his agent Jorge Mendes, who was believed to be trying to persuade club bosses to leave.

11/19

“I’m happy to be back,” the 37-year-old tweeted after the game against Rayo, despite a warm welcome from United fans. “That’s unacceptable. For everyone,” said Ten Hag, but publicly defended CR7 shortly afterwards.

12/19

AUGUST 2022: Less than three weeks later, the next irritation – Ronaldo caused new discussions with his departure after the 0: 4 swatter at FC Brentford. The Portuguese became the first United player to disappear into the stadium’s catacombs.

13/19

He also decided against thanking the supporters who had traveled with him – and this after assistant coach Steven McClaren had expressly asked him to do so. Both delivered a short battle of words, then Ronaldo stomped towards the dressing room.

14/19

On his way to the dressing room, the visibly frustrated Ronaldo also passed United manager Erik ten Hag. Neither looked at each other, nor was there a high five.

15/19

The reason for Ronaldo’s frustration: United had previously suffered their second defeat in their second game and were 4-0 down after just 35 minutes. The record champions of the Premier League were last. After all, CR7 was back in the starting XI in Brentford.

16/19

OCTOBER 2022: The latest escapade happened on Wednesday evening. After Ronaldo was again only on the bench against Spurs, he rushed into the dressing room before the final whistle – although United could have made two more substitutions.

17/19

Ten Hag explained: “I didn’t pay attention to that. We’ll take care of it tomorrow. Today the focus was on a great performance from the whole team.” Under the coach, CR7 has now degenerated into a substitute.

18/19

It fits: The Athletic reports that Ronaldo also left the stadium before the final whistle. His absence wasn’t really registered in the dressing room because the 2-0 win was celebrated there.

19/19

In 10 PL games, CR7 was on the pitch for more than 90 minutes. A farewell in winter is therefore more likely, also because there has probably been a change of heart at ten Hag and he is said to be anything but satisfied with Ronaldo.

ManUnited will be more successful without Cristiano Ronaldo

It’s not so much about his undisputed quality of scoring goals, though. With increasing age and declining performance, Ronaldo has not managed to adapt himself and his game. The striker wants to be the center of all attacks and is almost personally offended when the balls don’t come to him. At the same time, he hardly participates in pressing against the ball. Ronaldo still considers himself a top 10 player in the world and is acting accordingly. But he isn’t anymore.

In the past, when he played with Lionel Messi at a different level than any other footballer in the world, he could allow himself privileges. His teams accepted that because they saw his incredible output on offense as a reward for their hard work. This effect no longer exists.

Erik ten Hag and Manchester United will be more successful in the medium term if Ronaldo is not on the pitch. Because then they act as a team and are less predictable. All players participate in the pressing, all consider themselves an equal part of the team.

Cristiano Ronaldo can no longer be taken seriously

It is no coincidence that there are no longer any top clubs interested in signing Ronaldo. Nobody wants a player who cannot realistically assess the present and overestimates himself immensely. At United he was already a legend before he arrived. Many of his followers will probably forgive him for this theatre. Nevertheless, he scratches violently at his own monument.

Instead of behaving like a stubborn child, with a little more humility and realism Ronaldo could have actively worked to get his heart club back on track. His experience, the quality he still has, his status with many of his peers – all of that could be so valuable to Manchester. But Ronaldo chose selfishness.

Ten Hag did everything right with the suspension a few weeks ago. He sent a clear signal. The Dutchman now has to build on that. Nobody is bigger than the club. When Ronaldo criticizes a lack of respect, it’s funny at best given the show he’s been putting on since the summer. You can no longer take him seriously.