The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Opinion

Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Manchester United, the internet explodes

Autoplay in... 6 (Cancel)
Up Next No more videos! Playlist is empty -
Replay
Cancel
Next
Roar Rookie
27th August, 2021
0

It would’ve seemed unfathomable a few weeks ago to think Lionel Messi’s transfer to PSG wouldn’t be the major talking point of this transfer window.

That all changed in the early hours of Saturday morning, as Fabrizio Romano took to Twitch to give the green light and illustrious ‘here we go!’ on Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United.

Cristiano Ronaldo departed Manchester United in 2009 after 196 appearances and 84 goals. Nine seasons at Real Madrid, two at Juventus, 392 club goals, two La Liga titles, one Serie A title, and four Champions League titles have passed since then, not to mention captaining his national team to the Euro 2016 title and the 2019 Nations League title.

The list of achievements goes on and on. It goes without saying, Ronaldo could retire from football today and his legacy would live on for generations to come.

And luckily for us football fans, his story has a new chapter, one that has delighted Manchester United fans worldwide.

Cristiano Ronaldo

(Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

The news that Ronaldo wouldn’t be resigning for Juventus sent the internet into a spin, mostly because the most heavy rumour at the time was that the Portuguese superstar was linked with a move to Manchester City.

Naturally, this was being speculated as one of the biggest football betrayals of all time. To this day, Carlos Tevez has a very questionable legacy at Manchester United after transferring to the cross-town rivals. Now consider someone on the level of Cristiano Ronaldo performing the same move.

Advertisement

However, it wasn’t to be, as it was announced via reports on Twitter that Manchester City had left negotiations with Ronaldo, as personal terms couldn’t be agreed.

Cue delirium for Manchester United fans.

A matter of teasing hours later, after Ronaldo touched down in Portugal, the news dropped via a Fabrizio Romano Twitch stream, with Manchester United tweeting “Welcome home, @cristiano”.

After 12 years, the biggest name in world football was returning to the club that made him a global superstar. The fee is estimated to be around €15 million ($24 million) with €8 million ($13 million) add-ons to Juventus.

What a crazy time to be a football fan. And now, of course, comes speculation for the Premier League season. Are Manchester United now title favourites?

A big question that has to be asked is how does the side line up? Manchester United’s attacking options are now stacked.

Advertisement

Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho would all start for any team on any given day, but now there’s a conundrum for spots on the field.

Then there’s Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Dan James nipping at their heals. Do they even get a look in any more?

There’ll be pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjær over selection, especially considering Manchester United still lack a world-class defensive midfielder, something that many consider to be the missing piece of the puzzle for a title challenge.

These questions can all be answered in the weeks and months to come. For now, let’s appreciate this transfer window and the excitement that it has brought football fans worldwide.

What are your thoughts on Ronaldo returning to Manchester United and the line-up situation?

close