Manchester United has wasted long stretches of summers past on fruitless transfer sagas and this is another deal they should be wary of pursuing
He has four Ballons d’Or to his name, has netted 406 goals in his
last 394 club games, led Portugal to the European Championship crown
last summer and just a couple of weeks ago inspired Real Madrid to a
unique second consecutive Champions League triumph.
Throw in the fact that he retains a great love for The Red Devils
after winning nine trophies in six years with the club between 2003 and
2009, and the reasons Cristiano Ronaldo might be courted extensively by
those in power at Old Trafford are obvious.
Ronaldo ‘urged to join PSG’
In many ways, the news that Ronaldo is considering leaving Madrid amid accusations by Spanish prosecutors
of multi-million euro tax evasion could not be more welcoming for United
fans. At a time when their club have plenty of spending power and have a
four-year Premier League title drought to address, the availability of
the world’s best player comes at almost the perfect time.
Certainly, the new uncertainty surrounding Ronaldo’s situation in
Spain will have pricked the ears of Ed Woodward. United’s executive
vice-chairman is known for his commercial wisdom, and has made a big
deal of ensuring his side are in the hunt for the game’s greatest names
since taking the reins behind the scenes following David Gill’s
departure as chief-executive in 2013.
The arrivals of Angel di Maria and Paul Pogba drew great attention
due in large part to the size of their combined £150 million transfer
fees, while Jose Mourinho’s addition as United manager in 2016 was
viewed as a blockbuster appointment. The world’s most marketable coach
had joined one of the globe’s biggest clubs thanks to a man hell-bent on
making United the biggest commercial entity the planet has known.
So one should not be surprised if United go all-out this summer to
bring Ronaldo back to the Theatre of Dreams at a world-record cost. But
that doesn’t mean it would be a great idea.
For a start, there are the consequences if they manage to pull it
off. Even at a conservative estimate, it would cost the club well in
excess of £250m once the transfer fees, salary, bonuses, various agents’
fees and extras are considered. And all that for a player whom Mourinho
wouldn’t necessarily want in his squad.
Cristiano Ronaldo with Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid
“Ed Woodward has my list, what I want, what I would like, for more
than two months. So now it’s up to him and the owners,” said the United
boss in May. And while plans arguably ought to change if somebody like
Ronaldo comes onto the market, they probably shouldn’t given Mourinho’s
difficult relationship with his compatriot when the two worked together
at Real Madrid.
The pair endured a tumultuous spell at the Santiago Bernabeu, and
were even filmed avoiding eye contact shortly before Mourinho left for
Chelsea in 2013 such was the ill-feeling they shared for one another.
Mourinho accused Ronaldo of not working hard enough for the team, while
the player claimed that his manager’s defensive tactics were harmful to
their aspirations.
The
bottom line in this respect is that nothing has changed. Ronaldo
remains a largely unmanageable one-man tour de force, while Mourinho
continues to work to a highly-structured pragmatic game plan when it
comes to big games against top opponents. A working relationship between
the two at Old Trafford would arguably produce very similar issues to
those which came up in the Spanish capital.
Of course, the second scenario is that Woodward sends United headlong
into the pursuit of a deal for Ronaldo and the 32-year-old doesn’t
actually leave Madrid. There are plenty of reasons to believe that the
player’s current stance comes of nothing other than a knee-jerk reaction
to the Spanish prosecutors’ decision to investigate his tax payments.
The only reality that Ronaldo can bank on right now is that is
current club is one at which he has flourished enormously. The Blancos
are finally fulfilling their ambitions under Zinedine Zidane, with
Ronaldo playing an unparalleled part in their successes.
While Real Madrid as a club has always been an institution of
worldwide repute, Ronaldo has arguably helped them to reach new heights
in the last few years. Their three Champions League titles in four
attempts could yet be just the start of their dominance.
The club realise how important Ronaldo is to their success just as
much as the player does, and the No.7 will arguably use other clubs’
interests to scare Madrid into submission over a new deal or an
agreement to cover any charges levied by the Spanish prosecutors. And if
that happens, United could be left looking very silly if they begin to
put their carefully-devised transfer plan on hold for the sake of
Ronaldo.
Fans react to Ronaldo rumours
Already the pursuit of Madrid’s Alvaro Morata has been thrown into
doubt as a result of the news regarding Ronaldo, and it could turn out
to be a hugely costly mistake if Woodward and his aides take their eyes
off the ball in order to chase a fruitless target.
Just as their bids for Toni Kroos in 2014 and Sergio Ramos the
following summer left them looking a little silly on the world stage, a
postponement of transfer operations while Ronaldo toys with Madrid all
summer would not be becoming of a club like Manchester United.
The decision by Louis van Gaal to drop David de Gea while Madrid
attempted to finalise a swap deal in 2015 was left looking ill-advised
when nothing came of the transfer, and United might want to think twice
before changing their transfer plans for one potential signing.
If there is a very real chance that Ronaldo could come back to Old
Trafford, then United are right to be interested. But they could be
playing a very dangerous game if his intentions are anything other than
honourable.
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