It’s a move that seemingly came out of nowhere and is one to have got the football romantics all dewy-eyed.
There’s much to admire about a Cristiano Ronaldo return to Old Trafford in a commercial sense.
As we’ve already seen on social media in less than half a day, all platforms have blown up at the news, and it’s clear that the Portuguese’s impact in that sense is nothing but positive.
However, his impact on the pitch may not be what the supporters are hoping for, and his team-mates need.
He’s a winner yes. He still scores goals too. And yet there is a reason Juventus have been trying to offload him for two years.
He will become the focal point of United’s attack, at the expense of all others. His ego reigns supreme, still, and that’s going to grate an awful lot.
Nowhere close to being as potent from the dead ball as in his previous spell, will Ole Gunnar Solskjaer make it clear that free-kick duties remain with Bruno Fernandes and A.N. Other?
Most importantly, what about his contribution to the team in terms of defensive work rate? He rarely ventured back to help out his colleagues at Juve and was, by definition, a ‘luxury’ player.
In their situation, Manchester United can’t afford that. They don’t need Ronaldo the poster boy.
It’s a great headline-making move for the Red Devils, but by season’s end will have ultimately proved to have been the wrong one.
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