The sensational return has been fully completed after 12 years away. The Portuguese international declared that he no longer wanted to play for his previous club Juventus and then the world was alerted to the availability of a player who has won all the accolades. So, can Cristiano Ronaldo dominate the Premier League once again and still produce his best football?
What made the transfer even more sensational was the fact that Manchester United’s rivals were in pole position to sign Ronaldo. Manchester City have been in the market all summer for a striker since the departure of Sergio Aguero earlier in the window. There was talk of Lionel Messi and Harry Kane but neither of them came as close to joining the club like Ronaldo.
Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes reportedly agreed on personal details with Manchester City and the wheels were in motion. However, this did not sit right with many Manchester United legends such as Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, and more importantly Sir Alex Ferguson who reportedly spoke with Mendes, Ronaldo, and the Manchester United board to re-sign the former Real Madrid man. They did just that.
2009 was the last time that Ronaldo played for Manchester United and fans are eager to see their former icon. Ronaldo is currently with the Portuguese national team but will join up with his Manchester United teammates after the international break.
Ronaldo will also team up once again with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who he used to play within his first spell at Old Trafford. It is expected that Solskjaer will use his former teammate as the main striker rotating with Edison Cavani and Anthony Martial.
At 36, 37 in February, Ronaldo may have to understand that he will not play every single game as Manchester United will want to challenge on four different fronts; Premier League, Champions League, F.A Cup, and League Cup.
However, that will not take away the importance that he can bring to the team. Last season he finished top scorer in Serie A, outscoring Romelu Lukaku who recently moved to Chelsea for £97.5 million, and in the recent European Championships, he became the first player to score in five different European Championships. Ronaldo is far from done and his hunger is still apparent.
Another role for Ronaldo is, alongside Cavani, to nurture striking talents Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and more importantly Mason Greenwood. The Portuguese and Uruguayan international have seen it all and will want to pass on their goalscoring knowledge onto the frightening Manchester United forward line.
Some have likened the move back to Old Trafford like the return of Michael Jordan to Chigaco Bulls for his “Last Dance”. If Ronaldo can have half the impact in his two years at Old Trafford like Jordan did in his final three seasons with the Bulls then Manchester United could be celebrating 21 league titles on Deansgate come May 2022.
Given the competitiveness, can Cristiano Ronaldo dominate the Premier League? we have to wait and watch.
