Erik ten Hag tried his best with Cristiano Ronaldo this season. He tried to use him where he could, but the 37-year-old could not deliver the goals, scoring only three times before the World Cup break.
Ronaldo had more success last season, ending the campaign with a very impressive 24 goals.
But at the end of the season, interim boss Ralf Rangnick had a very interesting take on Ronaldo. He explained that despite the goals – he simply wasn’t worth it.
Rangnick said that Ronaldo negatively impacted the team and style of football, forcing him to make compromises.
There were plenty of other issues with Rangnick’s tenure, many not of his own making, some of his own. But when it came to Ronaldo – his insight was very interesting.
Rangnick proven right about Ronaldo
Speaking at a press conference at the end of the season, quoted by The Athletic, Rangnick suggested that Manchester United would be more efficient if allowances did not have to be made to get Ronaldo into the team.
He said: “At one stage we just had to find compromises — attacking a little bit deeper, how can we make sure that we get our offensive players into their positions?
“Cristiano scored a few goals but, again, Cristiano — and I’m not blaming him at all, he did great in those games – but he’s not a pressing monster. He’s not a player – even when he was a young player – he was not a young player who was crying, 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 — that’s also possible — but, as I said, we never found the right balance between what do we need with the ball and without the ball.”
Manchester United have found this season that the team is better and more dynamic without Cristiano Ronaldo in it.
The best performance came in the win over Tottenham which Ronaldo was not a part of, and then without Ronaldo against Aston Villa, the team scored four goals for the first time this season.
Portugal learned the same last night. Having dropped Ronaldo for their World Cup clash with Switzerland, they ran riot with a dynamic display, winning 6-1.
Ronaldo has been one of the most impactful players of all time, nobody can ever take that away from him. But in 2022, he is getting left behind.
Rangnick knew it – he just wasn’t given any power to make the change, and had to try and accommodate Ronaldo. He at least spoke up to say what he felt.
Months later he has been vindicated. Neither Erik ten Hag nor Fernando Santos prefer to make compromises for the forward any longer.
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