Let’s try something different in this week’s newsletter: A journey through modern soccer in three (vaguely related) stories.
The story, as it came to be told, was the one that people wanted to hear, the version they needed to believe. It went like this: Cristiano Ronaldo, beloved alumnus of Manchester United, had attempted to engineer a move to Manchester City, his alma mater’s fierce rival, because the atomic weight of ambition is greater than that of affection, and had only agreed at the last moment to return to Old Trafford instead.
Beyond that basic outline, though, there were few facts with which to garnish the story. These things are rarely played out in public. They are furtive and clandestine, conducted by remove and by whisper. Nobody shows their hand, declares their motivations, deprives themselves of plausible deniability. They do not need to. Theory and conjecture pour in to the vacuum.
And so, once Ronaldo had his homecoming, the scant facts at hand were parsed and assessed and bent to fit. Now, the flirtation was cast as nothing but a ploy, City seduced so that United might strike. Rio Ferdinand, Ronaldo’s former teammate, and Alex Ferguson, his longtime mentor, had intervened not to show him the error of his ways, but to snap United from its torpor. City might have turned his head, but only United could win his heart.
There has, for much of the last year, been what might generously be described as a “debate” about the merits of Ronaldo’s restoration at Manchester United. It has never been anything of the sort, of course. It has, instead, been two groups of people bellowing two entirely separate conversations, neither of which is very interesting, in each other’s vague direction.
One of those conversations is about whether Ronaldo, at 37, is still a fine player — pared down from his prime, of course, but nevertheless a goalscorer of remarkable efficacy — and the answer to it is that yes, obviously: One of the greatest players of all time is still a great player.
The other is about whether Ronaldo, at 37, makes Manchester United a better team — not perfect, of course, but stronger than it might be without him — and the answer to that one is no, obviously: He does not, largely because his presence commands that the team play in a manner to which it is not especially suited, and which would not be hugely effective even if it was.
Cristiano Ronaldo's future looks increasingly to lie away from Manchester United after the 37-year-old Portuguese international was not included in the squad for the club's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia.
The striker is currently training on his own at the Portuguese national team's training base after being given additional time off due to a 'family issue' and will not be on Friday's flight to Thailand.
Manchester United will play against Liverpool in their first friendly of the pre-season in Bangkok on July 12, before flying to Melbourne, where they take on Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace.
What neither side doubted, though, was that Ronaldo had been drawn back to Old Trafford by some indelible bond. The version of the story people wanted to hear had been accepted as fact. Even his salary, somewhere north of half a million dollars a week, was deemed less relevant than the history, the nostalgia, the romance.
Until this week, when it turned out that Ronaldo had informed United of his desire to leave. Not publicly, of course; plausible deniability remains paramount. Instead, as ever, a few skeletal facts have been allowed
He has been unimpressed by United’s activity in the transfer market. He has been disgruntled by the news that he will not be paid as much as he would have been, had the club with one of the most expensive squads ever assembled finished as one of the best four teams in the Premier League. He wants, more than anything, to play in the Champions League for the remainder of his career.
Ronaldo is a creature of the Champions League. That is where he has forged his legend. It was as the ultimate Champions League player that he sought to outdo his great rival, Lionel Messi. It is the competition by which he is judged, and by which he judges himself. A club, any club, is only useful to him if it allows him to maintain that relationship, to further that connection. As soon as it cannot, as United is finding, he is quick to sever his ties.
The side coached by Erik ten Hags will finish their visit to Australia with a game against Aston Villa in Perth on July 23, before returning to the UK via Oslo (Norway) where they take on Atlético Madrid on July 30.
Their only match in England before the new season is against the Spanish side, Ra yo Vallecano on July 31, reports Xingu.
Ronaldo is reported of asking to leave Old Trafford after just a year of his second spell there because he wants to play Champions League football next season.
Although official Manchester United sources say he is still under contract, the club is thought to be willing to listen to offers, with any money from a sale used for squad rebuilding.
You must be logged in to post a comment.