Cristiano Ronaldo resigns for Manchester United from Juventus

Cristiano Ronaldo has left Juventus and is all set to return to the Red Devils. The Premier League confirmed the news after both the parties agreed on a 2 year deal. The ace Portuguese forward shocked the world with a transfer U-turn on Friday, going from the verge of signing for cross-city rivals, Man City then reuniting with the premier league giants, Man Utd. The sea change in decision has instigated a fight between the fans of the two clubs. The 36 year old will play again at ‘The Theatre of Dreams’ 12 years after leaving Man Utd to join Real Madrid in 2009, where he remained for nearly a decade until joining the Italian giants in 2018. CR7, a five time Ballon d’Or winner, has till date won 30 major trophies in his career including five championship league titles, 5 FIFA Club World Cup, seven league titles in England, Italy, Spain, and the European Championship for his native Portugal. In his first stint with Man Utd, he netted 118 goals in 292 games which includes some of his famous free kicks. He is unarguably one of the greatest soccer players to grace this planet and his gigantic feats speak volumes of his impact on this massively popular sport. Will he be able to recreate the same magic once he had at the club or will the age get the better of the ‘most prolific goal scorer’. No, but I do think he will play a key part in determining Man Utd’s chances of winning the title this season. It would be difficult for a tricenarian to replicate the same performance as his first spell with the club but he will certainly be a vital cog for Ole Gunner’s men. 

The more pertinent question, maybe, is how Cristiano Ronaldo will fit in Ole Gunner’s scheme of things?  Unsurprisingly, seeing as he has been away from English football for more than a decade, Ronaldo is an entirely different footballer now from the stepover king, and later the counter attacking peril, that first ennobled the Premier League. In fact, he’s a pretty contrasting footballer now even from the one he was during his last season with the Los Blancos. In the latter half of his career, the Portuguese professional has been drawn away from the left wing role he tended to occupy at the Bernabeu. The epoch of Ronaldo the wide forward has been replaced with the era of Ronaldo the penalty box poacher. Ronaldo played nearly completely as  a Number 9 during his time at Juventus.  It seems probable that he will reprise that role at United and Solskajer will surround him with the pace of Mason Greenwood, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford on the flanks, to not only create space and chances for the number 7 but also do majority of his off the ball work too. Pogba could play  into a more natural central midfield position and alongside Bruno Fernandes will be charged with providing the team’s creativity from the middle of the pitch.