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
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Why would Bayern go for Ronaldo, don’t understand the link people keep pushing here. They tend to avoid very high wage and high profile players that ruin salary budgets, they generally play a high pressing game, they often look towards youth. Buying a 37 year old striker doesn’t match that at all. Lewandowski offered a lot more from play than old years Ronaldo.
 
Rolaholic said:
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:drool: Would be really nice to see him stay although i've been pessimistic about it happening. The squad needs major surgery that we simply can't do all in one summer. Having the GOAT around for another year while addressing the midfield and defensive problems is fine by me :D
 


Good.

Now it's on Ronaldo to want to stay and to be professional as and when he's benched.
 
DSG said:
There has been a lot of discussion in various threads that Ronaldo was the reason, Ralf couldn’t install his press, that Ronaldo was lazy, etc.

Fairly good article about Ronaldo’s contribution:
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There is no point really debating how good he has been for us because we will never know how this season would have gone without him. Perhaps better, perhaps worse. You cannot remove a player like Ronaldo from the equation and know the outcome.

I'm pretty certain that without him, even if we had built on last season (which IMO wasn't anything like as good as some like to suggest) we would have probably been looking at competing with Chelsea for 3rd. We were nowhere near City last season and a functional Liverpool are of a similar quality to City.

Ronaldo for another season might not be the worst thing. What I fear is Ronaldo for another 3 season.
 
Those New United Kits are the best I’ve seen in a LONG time at United.

Ronaldo needs to stay just to wear them ! :)
 
If he and his family are settled and happy I don't see why he'd want to leave
 
The idea of United wanting Ronaldo to stay is a backward step. There is no denying he is our most productive player this season but to what cost. I don’t buy into all the accusations being thrown about. I personally believe his competitiveness is making him think he can lead us back to the good times but that’s a falsehood.
We should be looking at a mid 20yrs guy to replace him and start working on a sensible plan, that is both straightforward and attainable. Keeping him comes with unrealistic expectations which can derail our course. No denying he is a freak of nature but in all honesty will he add value to where we heading? He wants to be winning right now, gradual progression should be our aim for now. Where does he fit into this. We’ve seen the media circus whenever he is benched, not celebrated a goal, show emotion, etc.
Moving forward the next 2 yrs should be about creating an on pitch football identity and get the right profile players, forget about star power or so called world class players. It’s like people keep thinking buying two brilliant midfielders will get us going again. No it’s just a band aid to our footballing issues. We’ve not played as a unit since Van Gaal, when lesser player could easily slot in for a game and do a job. Showing we are million miles away from building a team.
Can’t believe I just typed this considering I was very emotional when he scored his first goal back. Gotta say as of now for me, it’s all about where do I want to see the club in 3-5 years. Ronaldo will retire and get a box seat but the club will always be here.
 
I hope he stays. Other than his goals and winning mentality, his presence roots out the rotten influences in the dressing room and hopefully makes it easier for Eth to get rid of those rotten elements.
 
Want him to stay unless we are bringing in someone better which aren't.
 
KikiDaKats said:
The idea of United wanting Ronaldo to stay is a backward step. There is no denying he is our most productive player this season but to what cost. I don’t buy into all the accusations being thrown about. I personally believe his competitiveness is making him think he can lead us back to the good times but that’s a falsehood.
We should be looking at a mid 20yrs guy to replace him and start working on a sensible plan, that is both straightforward and attainable. Keeping him comes with unrealistic expectations which can derail our course. No denying he is a freak of nature but in all honesty will he add value to where we heading? He wants to be winning right now, gradual progression should be our aim for now. Where does he fit into this. We’ve seen the media circus whenever he is benched, not celebrated a goal, show emotion, etc.
Moving forward the next 2 yrs should be about creating an on pitch football identity and get the right profile players, forget about star power or so called world class players. It’s like people keep thinking buying two brilliant midfielders will get us going again. No it’s just a band aid to our footballing issues. We’ve not played as a unit since Van Gaal, when lesser player could easily slot in for a game and do a job. Showing we are million miles away from building a team.
Can’t believe I just typed this considering I was very emotional when he scored his first goal back. Gotta say as of now for me, it’s all about where do I want to see the club in 3-5 years. Ronaldo will retire and get a box seat but the club will always be here.
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Backward or not, Ronaldo has to stay next season for good of this club:

1. Replacing him will be expensive - we need to prioritize our new reinforcement with limited funds this summer - in DM, CM, CB, RW, RB etc

2. Without CL football, while we are in deep mess, what else have we got to attract new signings? Opportunity to play alongside with Ronaldo could be one.

3. He is simply our best outfield player this season, and still among top striker in the game, and guarantee us goals. He also brings right mentality to the team.
 
Adam-Utd said:
That doesn't really mean anything and never has - but I am confident he is staying.
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You think Ronaldo would waste his time on doing promo if he wasn't intent on staying (and bringing in that image rights lucra?) Give me a break.
 
TheReligion said:
@Solius or mods in general maybe we can get a poll?

More a question of will he be here next season not do you want him to be. Going to be all kinds of speculation now given his standing in the game. I think he will be and I’d like him to be!
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I think he will be here next season. However, if he does, then Ten Hag really needs to think carefully what he wants to do with Ronaldo. If he wants to keep him in the squad to support a Nunez, then I would support that. However, I cannot see CR7 tolerating that. I think if he stays it will be to remain the first choice striker. If he is fit, he will expect to play. That said, if Ten Hag keeps him and attempts to rebuild United around him, that will be a complete disaster. You cannot seriously rebuild a side around a 37 year old. No matter how well Ronaldo is playing, we need to actively look beyond him even if that means taking a 'step back'.
 
RedRonaldo said:
Backward or not, Ronaldo has to stay next season for good of this club:

1. Replacing him will be expensive - we need to prioritize our new reinforcement with limited funds this summer - in DM, CM, CB, RW, RB etc

2. Without CL football, while we are in deep mess, what else have we got to attract new signings? Opportunity to play alongside with Ronaldo could be one.

3. He is simply our best outfield player this season, and still among top striker in the game, and guarantee us goals. He also brings right mentality to the team.
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I understand your line of reasoning and can’t dismiss it.
I’m one of them people that don’t believe in replacing an individual, more into moving towards a unit with pieces that are interchangeable. Getting to that will be delayed with him around.
Those CL player type players are the ones we should be avoiding at all cost. When you are restructuring your team, the tried and test woeful past should be left behind. That’s the line of recruitment that’s been failing us all these years.
For fans his winning mentality might matter but when the team is not productive as a unit, it’s of no use to even he himself.
 
mctrials23 said:
There is no point really debating how good he has been for us because we will never know how this season would have gone without him. Perhaps better, perhaps worse. You cannot remove a player like Ronaldo from the equation and know the outcome.

I'm pretty certain that without him, even if we had built on last season (which IMO wasn't anything like as good as some like to suggest) we would have probably been looking at competing with Chelsea for 3rd. We were nowhere near City last season and a functional Liverpool are of a similar quality to City.

Ronaldo for another season might not be the worst thing. What I fear is Ronaldo for another 3 season.
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I mean, on one hand you are saying it’s pointless to debate his value, then on the other saying we’d have been better without him… Did you read the article? It basically lays out the case, statistically, that Ronaldo isn’t the reason we’ve been so bad, and in fact, we’d have been much worse without him.

I agree with you that there are aspects of the team’s play that are difficult to quantify, statistically. But, the claim that Ronaldo is lazy, doesn’t tackle, press, etc is pretty much debunked in the article.
 
The peak of football player will not last forever. He will still doing well in well working, solid and consistence team playing. In other words with consistent top service from his teammates. He still good for 15-20 without including the penalty.

But to be honest. I prefer a young Lewandoski or Brazil Ronaldo upfront, as the CF. Ronaldo energy is not the same anymore. Same with his explosivness and top speed.

He is contract for another year. I will wait to see how he work with Ten Hag football before i make conclusion. But my belief is : A well work and well team play and collective, include the top consistent service. Are big big factors behind every good result of a CF and football player.
 
DSG said:
I mean, on one hand you are saying it’s pointless to debate his value, then on the other saying we’d have been better without him… Did you read the article? It basically lays out the case, statistically, that Ronaldo isn’t the reason we’ve been so bad, and in fact, we’d have been much worse without him.

I agree with you that there are aspects of the team’s play that are difficult to quantify, statistically. But, the claim that Ronaldo is lazy, doesn’t tackle, press, etc is pretty much debunked in the article.
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I think you misunderstand my point. I was basically saying that even without Ronaldo the best we would have done this season is 3rd. We were never close to being able to compete with City or Liverpool for the title under Ole. And that was supposing that we maintained last seasons form, mentality or whatever.

I was saying there is no point looking at statistics for Ronaldo because you cannot take a player out of a team and know the impact. Good or bad. Arsenal lost Aubamayang and were better for it despite the fact Auba is doing well at Barca. its never as simple as it seems.

If Ronaldo destabilised the delicate ecosystem that was our dressing room it doesn't matter how much he contributes because as a team we have turned to shit. I'm not saying he has or did but you get my point. Statistics are fine until you start talking about "without player X this would have happened".
 
A lot of talk yesterday about how the Mbappe deal is only 3 years for appearances sake and he will have an out in 12 months time to head to Madrid after the World Cup. Plenty of people putting 2+2 together and saying Real will move for Salah and/or Mane but I can't help but wonder if they do think they can get Mbappe in the near future if they would not just be tempted to bring Ronny back for a victory lap next season. Hard to imagine him turning it down if it is offered and with a major rebuild needed here we would probably be ok with shifting the wages and getting our fee back.
 
At the heart of his dilemma was Ronaldo, as Rangnick explained on Friday. “Cristiano scored a few goals — I’m not blaming him at all, he did great in those games — but he’s not a pressing monster. Even when he was a young player he was not shouting, ‘Hurray, the other team has got the ball, where can we win balls?’ And the same with quite a few other players, so we had to make some compromises at one stage, maybe we made a few too many. We never found the right balance with the ball and without the ball.”

A dynamic centre-forward out of possession was instrumental to Rangnick’s style, as United knew when they hired him. Ronaldo, aged 37 and with crystal clear ideas on his game, primarily comes alive with the ball at his feet or when sniffing a chance.

Coaching staff discussed taking Ronaldo out of the team as early as the visit by Burnley, the fifth game of Rangnick’s tenure. Solskjaer had done so against Everton and been heavily scrutinised, although Michael Carrick fared better when placing Ronaldo on the bench at Chelsea.

Rangnick predicted a major issue if he did the same and so ultimately started Ronaldo in the 3-1 win over Sean Dyche’s side. Ronaldo scored.

Privately, Rangnick had cause to be careful around Ronaldo’s selection. The same day Lense was introduced, Rangnick told his squad he would be making wholesale changes to the side to face Young Boys in the Champions League. Ronaldo left Carrington annoyed at the prospect of being left out of a European game, telling team-mates he should either start or rest totally because sitting on the bench for three hours in the cold would be detrimental to him.

Ronaldo’s volcanic reaction to being substituted on 70 minutes at Brentford gave public validation to Rangnick’s concerns. He thought about dropping Ronaldo for the next game against West Ham, but concluded his fiery mood could be channelled to the team’s benefit.

Rangnick eventually bit the bullet in one of the biggest games of the season. He told Ronaldo of his intentions for a change in tactics days ahead of United’s trip to face Manchester City on March 6, with sessions then geared towards starting Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba as two false nines.

Ronaldo reported a hip flexor problem and flew to Portugal rather than be at the Etihad, with some team-mates suspecting he did not wish to experience the ignominy of watching such a major match from the sidelines
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From the article in The Athletic.

A hint of the downside that faces ETH in trying to manage Ronaldo's gametime next season.
 
Apparently we haven't won a league game without him this season. Zero. We had one win in the FA Cup against Villa while he was injured, that's literally the only win without him this entire season. That really is an alarming stat. If he hadn't joined us, we very well might have finished 11th or something like that.
 
He has to stay; a +35 years old striker scoring hat-tricks during one of the very worst PL campaigns of Utd's story. That has to count for something.
 
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