Ronaldo: Stay or go?

Will Ronaldo be at Utd next season?

  • Yes

    Votes: 824 52.3%

  • No

    Votes: 753 47.7%
  • Total voters
    1,577
Status
Not open for further replies.
Be damned if you do, be damned if you don’t. Reading the replies on here, he may aswell have just signed for City last season. People here are saying he only signed for us again because we offered him the best package financially…which is laughable at this stage of his career. He took a substantial wage cut to leave Juve in the first place so why would it be money he was after? Make it make sense.
He was also blamed a lot for the failings last season. From his point of view, there wasn’t a single positive in him coming back here and it seems like people who dislike him would dislike him regardless moving to City or not.
 
shamans said:
Ronaldo and his pressing does not matter. He is also really good at blocking passing lanes.
Click to expand...

I hear that a lot but I really don't believe it for a second - sorry.
 
He’s well passed it. Was already on a heavy decline at Juve and made them play shit football.

My only concern is if he leaves, who going to score the goals?

Would keep him for one year and buy a decent young striker in the next summer.
 
Thoms said:
Was already on a heavy decline at Juve and made them play shit football.
Click to expand...
He was their best player by a country mile. Broke goalscoring records that were in place at the club for nearly a century and amassed over 100 goals in just 3 seasons in a defensive side. Any other player and this would be regarded as a career highlight but for Ronaldo it’s a “heavy decline.” And your point about him making them play shit football is the laziest analysis ever. How much Juve did you actually even watch? Most of the guys that he was playing in midfield with there in his first season are either retired or in MLS/Turkey which should tell you who was in heavy decline.
 
MrEleson said:
He was their best player by a country mile. Broke goalscoring records that were in place at the club for over a century and amassed over 100 goals in just 3 seasons in a defensive side. Any other player and this would be regarded a. career highlight but for Ronaldo it’s a “heavy decline.”
Click to expand...

Did you actually watch them on a weekly basis?
Eliminations against Ajax, Lyon and Porto.

‘Throughout his three seasons – but especially in the latter two - there was a genuine lack of cohesiveness and rhythm to Juve’s play, almost as if the club was caught between two stools: trying to cater to Ronaldo, whilst at the same time play an attractive, system-based brand of football that would win over the neutral. The end product was a highly disjointed team that dug its way out of games based purely on moments of individualism.’

Thats Ronaldo in a nutshell. All about his stats. feck a well flowing team, as long as he gets his goals.
His last year was very mediocre in Italy and Juve was glad to get rid of him.

Yes, he’s one of the GOATS but is passed it for 2 years now.
 
Last edited:
Thoms said:
Did you actually watch them on a weekly basis?
Eliminations against Ajax, Lyon and Porto.
Click to expand...


Eliminations against Ajax, Lyon and Porto where Ronaldo got 5 goals and 1 assist across 6 games? - contributing to ~70% of Juve’s total goals across those ties (and not even including his hat-trick against Atletico). The only tie out of those 3 you could say he didn’t deliver was against Porto but he absolutely did everything you could ask of him against Ajax and Lyon (2nd leg). Not his fault the rest of the team couldnt turn up or key players were injured at crucial moments (Dybala, D.Costa, Mandzukic).


Thoms said:
Throughout his three seasons – but especially in the latter two - there was a genuine lack of cohesiveness and rhythm to Juve’s play, almost as if the club was caught between two stools: trying to cater to Ronaldo, whilst at the same time play an attractive, system-based brand of football that would win over the neutral. The end product was a highly disjointed team that dug its way out of games based purely on moments of individualism.’
Click to expand...
Juve never played exciting football so let’s not pretend like Ronaldo rocked up overnight and made them play ugly. They’ve historically been a very defensive side and their problems were exacerbated by their poor midfield (probably the worst in their recent history) while Ronaldo was there. This was the reason for their poor, disjointed play. Using your logic, Madrid which he had just left should’ve equally shown the same dire football with him in the side.
Thoms said:
Thats Ronaldo in a nutshell. All about his stats. feck a well flowing team, as long as he gets his goals.
His last year was very mediocre in Italy and Juve was glad to get rid of him.
Click to expand...
Makes sense…which is why the two teams he played at prior to Juve had one of their most successful spells in their history with him as the catalyst right?

And 29 league goals (topscorer btw) is sooo mediocre.
 
Last edited:
MrEleson said:
Make sensehich is why the two teams he played at prior to Juve had some of their most successful spells in their history with him as the catalyst right?
Click to expand...

Ronaldo was amazing for UTD and Madrid. I told you my personal view that he’s on a heavy decline since 2 years. He’s one of the greatest players ever but in my personal opinion I wouldn’t be bothered seeing him leaving UTD if a proper replacement can be brought in on time (there isn’t one though).
His first year at Juve was exceptional, after that he didn’t impress that much anymore.

What exactly are you getting at? I would want him for one more year and that’s it. Personally I can see him leaving cause he only cares about one thing, and thats Ronaldo.
 
How can he love the club yet offer himself to one of our rivals ? Loves us, my foot. This guy has never been about the club but just about himself. Not saying it's wrong but just stop the drama that he loves us so much!!
 
Thoms said:
Ronaldo was amazing for UTD and Madrid. I told you my personal view that he’s on a heavy decline since 2 years. He’s one of the greatest players ever but in my personal opinion I wouldn’t be bothered seeing him leaving UTD if a proper replacement can be brought in on time (there isn’t one though).
His first year at Juve was exceptional, after that he didn’t impress that much anymore.

What exactly are you getting at? I would want him for one more year and that’s it. Personally I can see him leaving cause he only cares about one thing, and thats Ronaldo.
Click to expand...
My point is that he hasn’t been in heavy decline at all. He’s probably been on a gradual physical decline that has been exacerbated by the deteriorating sides he’s played for. You’re a product of what’s around you. Had he played for a side like Bayern or Man City, I firmly believe you wouldn’t notice as much. He already spent less time on the ball anyway in his final seasons at Madrid, so I reckon you’d still be getting somewhere near that version of him if he played in a similarly top side.

But fair enough if that’s your personal take on it.
 
Thoms said:
Ronaldo was amazing for UTD and Madrid. I told you my personal view that he’s on a heavy decline since 2 years. He’s one of the greatest players ever but in my personal opinion I wouldn’t be bothered seeing him leaving UTD if a proper replacement can be brought in on time (there isn’t one though).
His first year at Juve was exceptional, after that he didn’t impress that much anymore.

What exactly are you getting at? I would want him for one more year and that’s it. Personally I can see him leaving cause he only cares about one thing, and thats Ronaldo.
Click to expand...
In terms of goalscoring his 2nd and 3rd year in Juventus is actually more impressive than his first year. But its true his overall performance level keep dropping abit every year due to his age, even though he ages better than others.

33-34: 31 goals in 47 games (club+country), Serie A player of the year, 3rd in Ballon D'or
34-35: 48 goals in 52 games (club+country), Serie A player of the year, 2nd in FIFA award (Ballon D'or cancelled due to COVID)
35-36: 46 goals in 59 games (club+country), Serie A topscorer
36-37: 32 goals in 49 games (club+country), Euro golden boot, PL team of the year
 
bond19821982 said:
How can he love the club yet offer himself to one of our rivals ? Loves us, my foot. This guy has never been about the club but just about himself. Not saying it's wrong but just stop the drama that he loves us so much!!
Click to expand...
529283_1.jpg
 
This is how his exit from Juve had started. He will probably end up at Chelsea. Sterling and Ronaldo with their midfield should be good for them.
 
Looks like people here are hoping for Ronaldo to leave since they believe every news they read.

Ronaldo is ambitious, no doubts about it. But if he truly wanted to run away, he could have done it right after the season ended. Why wait for ETH when he already "knows" the squad is not at the title winning level yet?

It is obvious all these news are only starting to appear once the "fans" started to grumble about lack of transfer activity. First the news about ETH being unhappy at the slow transfer activity, now Ronaldo. Its just garbage by the media as usual.
 
Moving him on would be the sensible choice, Utd should be in full rebuild mode, I don't expect top 4 next year, fans should be ready for Utd to struggle down in 8th to 6th position again as they start to reconstruct the squad. Really don't see the point of keeping Ronaldo and his huge wages for that type of season.
 
If we actually did our job in the transfer market and recruited wisely in positions of need, I wouldn't mind Ronaldo leaving. As things stand, letting him go would be devastating, so we have to keep him.

Unless we have a masterplan of having identified all our targets but intentionally drawing out the process to save a decent amount of money on fees. I don't trust our board to do that though.

Lond term, losing him is no big deal but it will definitely hurt this upcoming season.
 
I'm not hugely fussed either way if Ronaldo stays or goes. The concern if he leaves would be replacing his goals. That might be difficult when there's a huge dearth of high level forwards and probably a limitation to our budget, but I don't think we should keep him at all costs either.

It's not a coincidence that all semblance of a team dynamic went out the window shortly after Ronaldo arrived - it's all about him. If he was 5 years younger, perhaps you would accept that, but at 37 years old can a club of this size really continue to build everything around him? The recent links to Bayern and Chelsea with his agent shopping him around would suggest his heart's not even in it.

Even if we can't replace his goals directly, signing a younger, more aggressive forward might actually be more beneficial for us in the short term as well. I'd quite like us to do that if Ronaldo ends up staying anyway, although I'm not sure how likely that would be at this point.
 
El Jefe said:
If we actually did our job in the transfer market and recruited wisely in positions of need, I wouldn't mind Ronaldo leaving. As things stand, letting him go would be devastating, so we have to keep him.

Unless we have a masterplan of having identified all our targets but intentionally drawing out the process to save a decent amount of money on fees. I don't trust our board to do that though.

Lond term, losing him is no big deal but it will definitely hurt this upcoming season.
Click to expand...

If Utd lost him, but brought in FDJ, Eriksen, Antony and no striker I would still expect a large uptick in the 57 league goals of last season. Replacing the Ronaldo goals is not the issue, it is improving that shit team total.
 
If we open up the funds to replace them then im happy enough to see him go. He sticks out like a sore thumb in an apparent rebuild
 
Bobski said:
Moving him on would be the sensible choice, Utd should be in full rebuild mode, I don't expect top 4 next year, fans should be ready for Utd to struggle down in 8th to 6th position again as they start to reconstruct the squad. Really don't see the point of keeping Ronaldo and his huge wages for that type of season.
Click to expand...
I agree. I don't see us challenging for even top 4 either way so it would be better to build for the longer term without the circus around him.
 
I just hope we’re sounding out a striker in the background because if he does leave, I think it will be very sudden and toward the end of the window.
 
Bobski said:
If Utd lost him, but brought in FDJ, Eriksen, Antony and no striker I would still expect a large uptick in the 57 league goals of last season. Replacing the Ronaldo goals is not the issue, it is improving that shit team total.
Click to expand...

Exactly, if the team functions far better, the team will score more goals. It’s not like the other forwards can’t finish either. Look at Bruno without Ronaldo in the team. Get more control over games, focus on better control of midfield, watch us score more goals.
 
Many people forget ETH is very comfortable playing without a recognised striker. For a long time, Tadic played up front for Ten Hag. It's no surprise the club doesn't think signing a striker is a priority and would rather sign another wide player. His loss would heighten the need for one but even if he stays, I can easily see a scenario where he is phased out and leaves in January.
What should be clear, the club should not force him to stay.
 
Whether Ronnie stays or not…. Utd must buy a striker, we’re fecked if we dont.
 
MrEleson said:
Be damned if you do, be damned if you don’t. Reading the replies on here, he may aswell have just signed for City last season. People here are saying he only signed for us again because we offered him the best package financially…which is laughable at this stage of his career. He took a substantial wage cut to leave Juve in the first place so why would it be money he was after? Make it make sense.
He was also blamed a lot for the failings last season. From his point of view, there wasn’t a single positive in him coming back here and it seems like people who dislike him would dislike him regardless moving to City or not.
Click to expand...
correct agree totally I want him to stay but, i would add though without any negativity, if his agent is touting a move, don't mess about and just get it done clean and quickly.
 
Cheeky bid from Chelsea - £10 million?

Please let him go I say. He doesn't want to be playing Europa League for a team in transition on a wet cold night in Eastern Europe.
 
I’m this weird position where I’m not too arsed if he leaves but I also don’t want him playing for another club.
 
Mickeza said:
Anyone who read the Whitwell article will conclude there’s no way we’d be reluctant to let him go - provided we can get a replacement. If we do let him go it’ll be in our interests too. The issue I have is if we’ve known about this all along - that he’s off - then why the feck didn’t we go all in for Nunez? I don’t see any alternatives out there now - the striker market is pretty sparse.
Click to expand...
I think Nunez' agent or the player himself has indicated his preference to play for Liverpool and that was that. There's no point in bidding for a player if he has already decided who they'll join. Same with Haaland before it was announced.

I think we are in a position now where Ronaldo staying is not the worst thing in the world because we don't really have a striker target that we are willing to put so much importance as to replace Ronaldo in ETH's first year as manager here. It is a massive responsibility and I doubt ETH would buy just anyone, he'd rather use what he has already (Martial, Rashford, even Bruno) if needed, but first choice will probably be Ronaldo himself, if he stays.
 
Big Ben Foster said:
Brave of you to say that here, but I agree. Our defense will not improve until he leaves.
Click to expand...

If you haven't noticed, I don't care what the muppets on this site think. Most of them just repeat what others tell them to think. One day they will catch on. De Gea is a great shot stopper. No doubt. But he is average to poor at every other aspect of his game. Since his arrival, all of a sudden Rio and Vidic weren't good enough anymore. Then Jones and Smalling weren't good enough. Then Bailly and Blind couldn't cut it. Next up were Lindelof and Maguire followed by Maguire and Varane. And during this time there has only been one consistent. The keeper. I don't doubt for one second that he can and will make saves that no other keeper on the planet can make. Just check out his YouTube highlights. But there is so much more to being a top keeper than just making saves. There is a reason why he can't even make Spain's bench anymore and it's not just because of his distribution. His whole game has been built around relying on his natural talent. Even his positioning is poor but he's been able to make up for it with is agility. Put it this way....while De Gea is diving at full stretch to try and make some saves, VDS would have made the save look simple because he was in the right position when the shot came...
 
Not that arsed to be honest. We're not losing the Ronaldo we lost in 2009, we're losing a shadow of that player. It's also difficult to be emotionally attached to a player who has no emotional attachment to the club anyway.
 
I'm 100% sure that Ronadlo will leave to a Champions league side, he will simply maintain his stance for the time being and weigh his options. Once he finds the right club, he will pull the plug.
 
Adisa said:
Many people forget ETH is very comfortable playing without a recognised striker. For a long time, Tadic played up front for Ten Hag. It's no surprise the club doesn't think signing a striker is a priority and would rather sign another wide player. His loss would heighten the need for one but even if he stays, I can easily see a scenario where he is phased out and leaves in January.
What should be clear, the club should not force him to stay.
Click to expand...

Also, many people who like to mention this, forget that, in that miraculous season that basically turned ETH into a household name among football fans, Ajax had two recognized forwards in their roster: Huntelaar and Dolberg who chipped in 27 league goals and their combined starting appearances (28) are a strong indication that, when Ajax needed to play on the front foot and force the issue, ETH very much liked to have his man upfront making the right runs and opening up spaces for his wide players (mainly Ziyech and Tadic).

We, United fans, should also remember that the last time a manager of our club let his two classic forwards go (RvP and Hernandez), no matter how over the hill they both were, and chose to replace them with a winger and an inside forward (Depay and Martial), we ended up scoring 49 goals in 38 league matches. We should also keep in mind that the previous full-time manager kicked his only designated striker out of the club and put a lot of stock in the abilities of United's "golden boys" to get the team going, only to find himself fishing not once, not twice, but thrice in the pool of 30+ forwards to make his plans work.

Playing without a man in the box is one of the toughest tactics a football manager can pull off. It requires a lot of forward planning and a great understanding of each player's strengths and weaknesses. Because if you feck up and there's no contingency plan for where the goals are going to come from, what you'll end up with is playing week in-week out against a relaxed back-four that'll keep its shape and let your attackers hit one brick wall after the other. I'm not arguing that it shouldn't be in the cards under ETH's tenure. But it would be surprising, if he chose it without even spending 6 months/1 year with the squad. Surprising, not in a good way. And what the club thinks, is more scary than reassuring lately. I wouldn't trust them to find a prayer in the bible, let alone plan for us to play like peak Barcelona.
 
If we were still being managed by ole, mourhino, moyes or lvg, then I can understand the worry of letting him go but we now have a managed that every fan sees as of the similar mould of pep and get a team playing free flowing total football, plus you could make an argument that the best season he had at ajax was when he was using a false 9 in tadic.

There is also the possibility of if ronaldo left and with pogba already gone it give the chance for bruno to have the type of freedom and play built around him like during his first season and a half when he was delivering for the team.
 
If he doesn’t want to be here, then he should be sold.

An unhappy Ronaldo, would be a massive hindrance to the team.

His constant winging and sulking, is bad enough as it is.

The only problem is, if Ronaldo leaves, then we are really in big trouble for goal scorers.
 
Bobski said:
If Utd lost him, but brought in FDJ, Eriksen, Antony and no striker I would still expect a large uptick in the 57 league goals of last season. Replacing the Ronaldo goals is not the issue, it is improving that shit team total.
Click to expand...

Yep.

Ronaldo scored 18 league goals last season while the team itself scored 16 fewer goals than it had the previous season. Even if you lose Ronaldo's goals, there's nothing stopping you from improving the flaws that saw the team's overall goals drop off. Especially if Ronaldo himself contributes to some of those flaws.
 
We can make a solid profit on him even if we sold him with one year left on his deal. The dearth of 25 goal a season strikers in the market makes him invaluable for any team with champions league ambitions. I don’t see his value too far off from lewandowski, considering how well he takes care of his body.
 
sullydnl said:
Yep.

Ronaldo scored 18 league goals last season while the team itself scored 16 fewer goals than it had the previous season. Even if you lose Ronaldo's goals, there's nothing stopping you from improving the flaws that saw the team's overall goals drop off. Especially if Ronaldo himself contributes to some of those flaws.
Click to expand...
Absolutely this.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.