Never write Cristiano Ronaldo off: He knows it is time to deliver and has never failed

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Cristiano Ronaldo is facing a rare challenge in his career, one he has not experienced for a while. People no longer believe in him.

Nobody can dispute what Ronaldo has achieved in the past. He has won five Ballon d’Ors, five Champions Leagues, and he is the international record goalscorer with 117 goals.

He has more than 800 career goals, and the very fact he is still going at the top level at the age of 37 speaks volumes in itself.

But when it comes to what Cristiano Ronaldo can produce now, that’s where the problems start.

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The time for excuses is over for Ronaldo in this crucial month

Ronaldo has had a poor start to the season. This can quite simply be written off as an aberration, down to mental and physical issues.

It is no secret Ronaldo wanted to leave Manchester United this summer. The disruption around this unsettled him behind the scenes, and his failure to land a move will have been hugely frustrating.

This led to a lack of match fitness and sharpness; due to missing the pre-season and has seen Ronaldo struggle to hold down a starting spot in Erik ten Hag’s preferred XI.

During September, Ronaldo managed to get onto the scoresheet in the Europa League, and has been working hard with the first team squad. He also started two games for Portugal, providing an assist even though he failed to score.

Manchester United enter a big month with nine matches in October. Ronaldo will see game time, regardless of whether he is first or second choice in the pecking order.

He will get his opportunities to shine, and after a playing during the international break, his match fitness will have improved. The time for excuses is over.

Ronaldo has been proving people wrong his whole career so why stop now

Cristiano Ronaldo will have heard the whispers by now. Many believe at the age of 37, his time at the very top is long gone.

Ronaldo wants to continue into his 40s, and said this past week he wants to play at Euro 2024. But after his lack of goals recently, there is even discussion in Portugal whether he should be a starter at November’s World Cup.

Former Primeira Liga boss Manuel Machado told O Jogo: “Cristiano Ronaldo is no longer the same player, with the same brightness and the same speed he had ten years ago.

“It is clear that opting for another fresh player in that area, possibly a fast player, could have made things go a little better.”

Ronaldo has been proving people wrong his whole career. He has plenty of motivation to do the same again. It would be no surprise to see him go on a hot streak and start scoring goals regularly for United, and for Portugal at the World Cup.

The start of 2022 was a lean spell for him, and questions were raised. Then he went on a prolific scoring streak at the end of the season which saw him score nine goals in seven games, including two hat-tricks.

We all know Ronaldo’s career is winding down, but don’t expect him to go out quietly. The 2022/23 season could yet be a big one for him, and if anyone should be supporting him amid the wave of criticism coming his way, it’s Manchester United fans, who have seen him grow into a mega-star.