Cristiano Ronaldo re-signs for Manchester United

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Five-time Ballon d’or winner Cristiano Ronaldo has re-joined Manchester United after 12 years away from the club.

With Juventus failing to seriously challenge for Champions League titles, Ronaldo looked for a dramatic late move away from the Italian side.

However, as his decision came so late into the window, it left very little time for preparation, and the opportunity to sign the Portuguese superstar had to be an impulsive decision.

With Ronaldo’s astronomical wage demands, very few clubs could afford to bring the world class striker in.

PSG signed Lionel Messi just weeks prior, which meant that the French team wouldn’t make a move for the Portuguese player.

Thus, this left just Manchester City and Manchester United with the ability to fight for his signature.

24 hours before Ronaldo sealed his move back to United, Manchester City looked firm favourites.

There was little noise of United’s interest, but a major wave of City noise suggesting Pep Guardiola’s team was making a move for the former Real Madrid striker.

Swift progress on the deal was being made with a transfer looking almost like an inevitability.

This left United fans stunned, as a club legend was inches away from joining their local rivals.

However, in a dramatic turn of events, United entered the race.

Subsequently, United swooped in and stole the Portuguese striker from their rivals.

Ronaldo’s first stint

Ronaldo was spotted by Sir Alex Ferguson in a pre season game against Sporting Lisbon. He tore apart the United side. As a result, Ferguson made sure the skilful winger became a United player.

Subsequently, the Portuguese winger signed for United in August of 2003 as a young 18-year-old. He joined for £12.24m from Sporting Lisbon.

In his first season, Ronaldo was incredibly raw. He showed glimpses of world class potential through his electric speed and dribbling, but lacked the final product to take him to the next level.

He scored six goals, assisting eight in 40 games. A record which although not statistically impressive, illustrates the impact and potential the young teen had.

Ronaldo played 29 Premier League games, which although many were off the bench, exemplifies Ferguson’s trust in him.

In his second season, Ronaldo gradually improved, scoring nine goals and assisting nine in 50 appearances.

In this, the Portuguese played in four more Premier League games than the previous season, gradually becoming more of a first team player.

In the 2005/06 season, he managed 15 goals and assists in the Premier League, with 20 goal contributions overall.

However, it was the 2006/07 season where the legendary striker took his game to the next level. He scored 17 Premier League goals, assisting eight in 34 appearances.

In all competitions, Ronaldo scored 23, assisting 14 in only 53 games. As a result, this cemented Ronaldo as a starter, and one of the first names on the team sheet.

However, the 2007/08 season was where Ronaldo went from great, to world class. He scored 31 league goals with seven assists in just 34 games.

In addition, Ronaldo was instrumental in leading United to a Champions League title, scoring eight goals and assisting one in 11 Champions League appearances.

In the final, despite missing his penalty in the shootout, it was his bullet header which ensured United made it to extra time, in which they eventually won on penalties.

Ronaldo managed a remarkable 50 goal contributions in 49 games that year. As a result, the former Juventus striker won his first Ballon d’or.

In his final season of his first stint, Ronaldo still managed 38 goal contributions in 53 games, before making a record £80m transfer away to Real Madrid in the summer.

Therefore, Ronaldo left United as a club legend, as well as the best player in the world. He scored 145 goals, assisting 64 goals in his time at the club.

Period at Juventus

In 2018, Ronaldo signed for Juventus from Real Madrid. In his first season, he scored 21 times, assisting nine goals in 31 Serie A games.

In his second season, the Portuguese striker scored 31 league goals, assisting six in 33 games.

This was followed by 29 league goals in his final season.

Therefore, upon his arrival at United, despite being 36 years of age, Ronaldo was still a world class striker.

However, what plagued his time in Italy, was his inability to win Juventus the Champions League.

This sparked the debate as to whether his transfer was truly successful, as the goal of bringing him to Juventus was to win the Champions League.

However, ultimately, his time in Italy was very successful, as he scored a phenomenal 101 goals, assisting 22, in just 134 games for Juventus.

How Ronaldo will affect United

In recent years, United have struggle to find a consistent centre forward capable of leading the line in the team.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was injury prone, Antony Martial has failed to consistently impress, and Edison Cavani struggled to stay fit.

Thus, the signing of Ronaldo could revolutionise the United attack.

Compared to the older strikers like Ibrahimovic and Cavani, Ronaldo has immense health and fitness levels. At 36, he still stands as one of the fittest players in the world.

This will mean United can rely on the Portuguese striker to play most games.

Furthermore, Ronaldo has elite movement and goal scoring ability like no other in the world. Thus, this will mean United will score those extra scrappy goals.

Ronaldo will use his striker’s instincts to score poacher like goals which former United striker’s wouldn’t have anticipated.

With fellow Portuguese playmaker Bruno Fernandes behind him, Ronaldo’s elite movement could create a formidable partnership with lots of United’s goals coming through these two.

Expectations

Therefore, with world class players like Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho already being brought in, United will expect a title challenge this season and a return to winning trophies after years without silverware.