Is Cristiano Ronaldo a United legend? | Poll added

Is Cristiano Ronaldo a Man Utd legend?

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Billy Blaggs said:
No he's not. He had given his best years to Real Madrid. Great player. Not a Utd legend.
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That's the crux of it for me too. Real Madrid legend maybe but not a United one. To me a legend is someone you'd associate with a particular club and for Ronaldo that will be Real Madrid.

United legends are - Charlton, Law, Best, Robson, Keane, Giggs, Scholes, Beckham, Schmeichel, Cantona.....
 
CassiusClaymore said:
That's the crux of it for me too. Real Madrid legend maybe but not a United one. To me a legend is someone you'd associate with a particular club and for Ronaldo that will be Real Madrid.

United legends are - Charlton, Law, Best, Robson, Keane, Giggs, Scholes, Beckham, Schmeichel, Cantona.....
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In that case I cannot believe you left out Michael Owen.

#7
 
CassiusClaymore said:
That's the crux of it for me too. Real Madrid legend maybe but not a United one. To me a legend is someone you'd associate with a particular club and for Ronaldo that will be Real Madrid.

United legends are - Charlton, Law, Best, Robson, Keane, Giggs, Scholes, Beckham, Schmeichel, Cantona.....
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Yeah, pretty much this. We're talking about legends of a particular club. If a player hasn't played for that club when in his prime then he's automatically disqualified.
 
adexkola said:
I find the "2 1/2 years of excellence" weird. He was actually a decent winger in the first 3 years before he transitioned into world class.
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Would he be considered a legend or great if he had left after the 2006 World Cup?
 
For me he absolutely is a United great and one of the best players I've ever had the pleasure of watching.

Pace, two footed, skills galore, ability to score literally any type of goal. The ability to lift his team when needed! Or to pull it out of the bag despite playing like utter garbage for most the game.

On his day there's no stopping him and even on a bad day most still can't. OK so we didn't get his best years but when he was with us he gave us his all. He still loves the club and given the chance I'm sure would like to come back. That's enough for me!
 
Iconic player, one of our most famous sons, one of the best players we've ever had and a #7 to boot.

Legends are more about what they did for a club than how long they were there and whether they were in their prime or not.

Ronaldo powered us towards the league in 06/07, the double in 07/08 and the league in 08/09. By far our best player in the first two of those seasons. The best player in the world too.

Who cares that he left for Madrid, he was here for the same amount of time as Cantona and Becks left for Madrid at his supposed prime too, they're both legends so why not Ronaldo?
 
Rich_H_1989 said:
For me he absolutely is a United great and one of the best players I've ever had the pleasure of watching.

Pace, two footed, skills galore, ability to score literally any type of goal. The ability to lift his team when needed! Or to pull it out of the bag despite playing like utter garbage for most the game.

On his day there's no stopping him and even on a bad day most still can't. OK so we didn't get his best years but when he was with us he gave us his all. He still loves the club and given the chance I'm sure would like to come back. That's enough for me!
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Was multi tabbing. Was about to write an essay to rebuke this until i realised this is the ronnie thread and not the roonie thread. Lol
 
adexkola said:
No. Not that my comment had anything to do with that. Just saying he wasn't a scrub before the World Cup.
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The point being how long he was at United while being a stand out, top class player. Someone who was clearly one of the best in the league. Huge difference between the length of top class service he provided United compared to the likes of, say Scholes or Giggs. Or Gerrard at Liverpool.

Length of service isn't the only issue people have, though. Hence Cantona wouldn't divide opinions despite a similarly short United career. It's the fact he didn't peak as a footballer while he was here. His best football was played at another club. Can't think of any "legend" at any other club to whom that would apply.
 
matherto said:
Iconic player, one of our most famous sons, one of the best players we've ever had and a #7 to boot.

Legends are more about what they did for a club than how long they were there and whether they were in their prime or not.

Ronaldo powered us towards the league in 06/07, the double in 07/08 and the league in 08/09. By far our best player in the first two of those seasons. The best player in the world too.

Who cares that he left for Madrid, he was here for the same amount of time as Cantona and Becks left for Madrid at his supposed prime too, they're both legends so why not Ronaldo?
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I think we are obviously biased though. By football fans in general he will be seen as a Real Madrid legend. We will be seen as a significant stepping stone in his career however.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
The point being how long he was at United while being a stand out, top class player. Someone who was clearly one of the best in the league. Huge difference between the length of top class service he provided United compared to the likes of, say Scholes or Giggs. Or Gerrard at Liverpool.

Length of service isn't the only issue people have, though. Hence Cantona wouldn't divide opinions despite a similarly short United career. It's the fact he didn't peak as a footballer while he was here. His best football was played at another club. Can't think of any "legend" at any other club to whom that would apply.
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He became a better goalscorer at Madrid, but did he really become a better all-round player.. for me his dribbling has never quite touched what it was during his time at United. I would say that at United he was consistently entertaining whereas whilst I have not watched every single Real Madrid match, I think he has been on the whole more efficient rather than an entertainer. People denigrate dribbling as some sort of non important quality, but it was a really important rare quality which he brought to the United side, it would take us from a moment of defence to attack in an instant.. he could transform a game just by running at opponents, be a source of creativity which could inject pace and tempo into a game.

That 06-08 period, was goals, tricks... everything you would in a superstar player.. he was still very likeable and a team player. He scored those 42 goals without sacrificing his general play and still being a team player, not having the entire side catered towards making him score more and more goals. He was a winger who scored 42 goals, by his last season here.. his game changed, he was less about running at players and became more of a wide striker, and that is how he carried on for the remainder of his career.

For me the United Ronaldo was a unique talent, a unique period of his career which remains unmatched in terms of entertainment value.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
The point being how long he was at United while being a stand out, top class player. Someone who was clearly one of the best in the league. Huge difference between the length of top class service he provided United compared to the likes of, say Scholes or Giggs. Or Gerrard at Liverpool.

Length of service isn't the only issue people have, though. Hence Cantona wouldn't divide opinions despite a similarly short United career. It's the fact he didn't peak as a footballer while he was here. His best football was played at another club. Can't think of any "legend" at any other club to whom that would apply.
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I agree with you, which is why I voted No to the poll.
 
Would anyone have a change of heart if he rejoined next summer, or would it be all too late? If he spends another 4 seasons at United, wouldn't he be more associated with the club than Madrid?
 
The way I see it, we signed a player who was all about tricks and flicks. The kind of winger who would beat his man and then go back to beat him again.

He was a lot of fun to watch in those early days. The step overs and mesmerising footwork. But over time Fergie changed him. He made him put more emphasis on goals rather than looking like a great 5 a side player.

At that point he started taking us to new heights. Scoring goals for fun, scoring critical goals that propelled us to the best side in Europe. And when he scored 42 goals in a season, won the double and won player of the year that's when he became a club legend.
 
Gambit said:
No, he was a great player for us but not a legend.
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I agree, was great for us, and we were great for him at that stage in his career.

I can see why people think otherwise, but I would not consider him a legend in the same way as Cantona, Law, Charlton, Giggs, Scholes, Beckham, and many others, he was clearly a better player than some of them, but skill alone does not make a legend.

Most of them had careers at other clubs, and you can add to that list Best, who clearly had problems and other clubs, but in his prime, it was all at united.

What makes a player a legend is difficult to define, and without being able to put it into Black and white, it is probably slightly different in the minds of each of us. Schmeical was probably our greatest keeper ever, but joining City and some of the things he said at the time, just took the shine off him for me, not the way of a United legend for me, but I can see why some would not agree, like many things its my opinion, doesn't make it right or wrong, just my feeling.


But Ronaldo was clearly a great player for us, and among the best in the world when he chose to leave us, but in my mind not a United legend
 
For me a United legend is someone who when you think of their career, you can only think of United. Their time at the club defined them and they themselves have added to the lore of the club. It may be in a silly one off moment or it could be career spanning. When I think of Ronaldo, I see Real Madrid and an endless battle with Messi.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
The point being how long he was at United while being a stand out, top class player. Someone who was clearly one of the best in the league. Huge difference between the length of top class service he provided United compared to the likes of, say Scholes or Giggs. Or Gerrard at Liverpool.

Length of service isn't the only issue people have, though. Hence Cantona wouldn't divide opinions despite a similarly short United career. It's the fact he didn't peak as a footballer while he was here. His best football was played at another club. Can't think of any "legend" at any other club to whom that would apply.
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There's something odd about requiring that the truly legendary player be the one who fails at other clubs. Think of all the players that we just sold.....if only they can succeed in failing miserably in the future, will they still have a chance to be a Utd legend?

Would Ronaldo have been a legend if only he'd thought to become an alcoholic and ruin his career? Instead of going somewhere else and still being great?
 
He can't be a legend for United. One of the greatest players to ever play for United, perhaps the greatest but that doesn't define what a legend is.

Ole is a legend. He isn't anywhere near the top of the list in terms of skill.

There are many ways to become a club legend, but they are all unified by a single factor (in my opinion) service and longevity to the club. When you spend your peak years somewhere else, you can't really be a legend. A great? Sure, legend? Legend means more than just being a world class player.
 
steffyr2 said:
There's something odd about requiring that the truly legendary player be the one who fails at other clubs. Think of all the players that we just sold.....if only they can succeed in failing miserably in the future, will they still have a chance to be a Utd legend?

Would Ronaldo have been a legend if only he'd thought to become an alcoholic and ruin his career? Instead of going somewhere else and still being great?
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If a player gives a club his best years he doesn't "fail" at his next club. He'll just be slightly past his best.
 
I don't understand all these rules people are making up for what defines legend. About how they have to played for certain length of time and can't have achieved success at other clubs etc.

To me a legend is simply a player who you will always remember and talk about because of what they did for your team. Ronaldo made us the best team in the world, I won't forget that in a hurry!
 
settembrini said:
I don't understand all these rules people are making up for what defines legend. About how they have to played for certain length of time and can't have achieved success at other clubs etc.

To me a legend is simply a player who you will always remember and talk about because of what they did for your team. Ronaldo made us the best team in the world, I won't forget that in a hurry!
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Hehe.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Hehe.
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But that's simply the definition of the word legend... something or somebody whose achievements make them memorable and talked about for a long time.

I'm just taking the word as it's defined and used, not coming up with my own definition so I can fit/exclude Ronaldo based on personal preference.
 
settembrini said:
But that's simply the definition of the word legend... something or somebody whose achievements make them memorable and talked about for a long time.

I'm just taking the word as it's defined and used, not coming up with my own definition so I can fit/exclude Ronaldo based on personal preference.
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You said you don't understand why people are trying to define a "United legend" then came up with one of your own (conveniently ignoring the "United" bit)

Ralph Milne and Massimo Taibi are both memorable and still talked about decades after they played for United. Are they legends?
 
settembrini said:
I don't understand all these rules people are making up for what defines legend. About how they have to played for certain length of time and can't have achieved success at other clubs etc.

To me a legend is simply a player who you will always remember and talk about because of what they did for your team. Ronaldo made us the best team in the world, I won't forget that in a hurry!
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William Prunier

Never forgotten
 
settembrini said:
But I didn't come up with my own. I'm using the word as it's defined and commonly used.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/legend

As it applies to a person:
legend noun (PERSON)
C1 [C] someone very famous and admired, usually because of their ability in a particular area: Jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald once sang in this bar.

Ronaldo fits this definition. Milne and Taibi do not.
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Every member of our current team fits that definition. It obviously doesn't work in this context.
 
The term 'legend' is too easily bandied about these days.
We are short of the type who truly make the fabled legendary status..
Before we know it there'll be polls asking if DDG is/was one.
 
settembrini said:
I don't understand all these rules people are making up for what defines legend. About how they have to played for certain length of time and can't have achieved success at other clubs etc.

To me a legend is simply a player who you will always remember and talk about because of what they did for your team. Ronaldo made us the best team in the world, I won't forget that in a hurry!
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I think that most fans will remember Park Ji Sung, but is he a legend? To me a legend leaves a legacy, Ronaldo left nothing, he was a great player for us, he was the best player in the world but he left nothing behind him. I know that it's probably meaningless for most people but after Ronaldo we scored more goals every seasons at the exception of one, under SAF. We did great without him.
 
settembrini said:
... I would say Rooney is the only 'legend' in our current squad by that definition.
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They are all famous and admired, and if I may Ronaldo the person is a football legend, our question is not about Ronaldo the person, but the story of Ronaldo as a United player, is that worthy of a legend?
 
JPRouve said:
I think that most fans will remember Park Ji Sung, but is he a legend? To me a legend leaves a legacy, Ronaldo left nothing, he was a great player for us, he was the best player in the world but he left nothing behind him. I know that it's probably meaningless for most people but after Ronaldo we scored more goals every seasons at the exception of one, under SAF. We did great without him.
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If you remember Park being important for United, and talk about him regularly, then I am happy for you to call him a legend. I wouldn't because I only remember him as a decent squad player and I'd struggle to talk about him in real life for more than a couple of minutes, I could talk about Ronaldo for hours, there's just so many individual moments, whereas 90% of Park's career was me being impressed with his work rate. After I've said, and something about how he did a good marking job on Pirlo, I'm really struggling!

I don't understand your point about a legend needing a legacy. What specifically do you think he should have left behind? In his last three seasons he took us to three consecutive titles plus a CL title. Think about all the goals, all the performances he put in during that time. Those memories that we share are what he left behind, to me they are plenty.
 
JPRouve said:
They are all famous and admired, and if I may Ronaldo the person is a football legend, our question is not about Ronaldo the person, but the story of Ronaldo as a United player, is that worthy of a legend?
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Not imo. The majority of our squad simply haven't achieved enough at United for me to really admire them, and I don't think our players are as famous as you think. People who don't care about football know who Rooney and Ronaldo are, you can't say that about most of our current players.
 
settembrini said:
If you remember Park being important for United, and talk about him regularly, then I am happy for you to call him a legend. I wouldn't because I only remember him as a decent squad player and I'd struggle to talk about him in real life for more than a couple of minutes, I could talk about Ronaldo for hours, there's just so many individual moments, whereas 90% of Park's career was me being impressed with his work rate. After I've said, and something about how he did a good marking job on Pirlo, I'm really struggling!

I don't understand your point about a legend needing a legacy. What specifically do you think he should have left behind? In his last three seasons he took us to three consecutive titles plus a CL title. Think about all the goals, all the performances he put in during that time. Those memories that we share are what he left behind, to me they are plenty.
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Our defense took us there not our attack, he was a member of the attack and it wasn't our best area. Ronaldo was an incredible player in a team based on an unbreakable defense.
 
I think he's not a United legend, but mainly because he spent the best part of his career at Real. He'll be a Real legend.
 
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