‘I was there when Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Man Utd – it was just so disappointing’

Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United as a club legend when he transferred to Real Madrid in a world record £80million move in 2009, but many fans will be quick to forget his lacklustre return 12 years later

Harry Maguire has lifted the lid on the excitement surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo’s stunning Manchester United return, admitting his disappointment in how things ultimately ended.

Ronaldo made a name for himself at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson between 2003 and 2009, before securing a then-world record transfer of £80million to Real Madrid.

The forward continued to excel with Los Blancos, scooping two La Liga titles, four domestic trophies, four Champions Leagues and four of his five total Ballon d’Ors before moving on to Juventus in 2018.

United fans were delighted to hear that Ronaldo was returning to Old Trafford three years later, but his last dance with the Red Devils didn’t quite go as planned. While the now 40-year-old managed 18 Premier League goals under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick in 2021/22 as United finished sixth in the table, he reportedly grew dissatisfied with United’s team performances.

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After falling out of favour under new head coach Erik ten Hag, Ronaldo revealed all in an explosive interview with Piers Morgan, which led to Manchester United mutually terminating his contract in November 2022.

Maguire admits that Ronaldo’s return was a breath of fresh air in the dressing room for his team-mates, despite the ending leaving a bitter taste in the mouth.

Speaking with Rio Ferdinand on his Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, the centre-half who has been with United since 2019, said: “I can’t speak a bad word about him. It was amazing to have him, when he walked through the door it was just incredible.

“It was just so disappointing how it ended and how we couldn’t find a way to perform with him in the team. He was performing, he was scoring goals, it was crazy. I don’t know how many he scored that year. We were rubbish and he was still scoring goals, so it just shows how good he is.

“But we just couldn’t find a way to… all our system under Ole was about being on the front foot, being aggressive. Pressing, it was like a pressing machine. We weren’t the best team, we actually finished third and then second. We probably didn’t have the best players.

“We had some great players, don’t get me wrong, but it was all about pressing and working to a tactic and working to a shape, and when to jump and when to stay. And obviously Cristiano came in and we just didn’t adapt well enough for him, and you could just tell he was so upset and frustrated.”

With regards to how he dealt with the process of losing Ronaldo as a senior player, he added: “We just couldn’t believe what happened because we obviously finished third, then second, and then that season we brought in Sanch [Jadon Sancho], Rafa [Raphael Varane] and Cristiano in the summer.

“And you’re thinking, ‘Here we go now, like, let’s go win the Premier League,’ and it just never happened. It just never clicked. And obviously we lost Ole, which was disappointing if I’m being honest. I feel like Ole did an unbelievable job, I’ll probably speak more about Ole when I’m retired.

“But the way that he set us up in the first two years is probably the best I’ve felt in a team, under Ole and Kieran [McKenna] and Carras [Michael Carrick]. Those three, they had us so well organised. And like I said, we didn’t have the best team about. We were just well-coached, tactically brilliant.

“We could play, we could press. The third season I was there it just didn’t work, and it had nothing to do with Cristiano because like I said, he was our best player that year by far. The boys and the tactics around him, it just didn’t work.”

Manchester United are currently gearing up for their return to the Premier League under new boss, Ruben Amorim, who took the reins following the sacking of Ten Hag in October. The Portuguese tactician endured a lacklustre 15th-place finish in the standings last term, but will hope to perform to the best of his abilities with a full summer transfer window and pre-season under the belt.

Amorim has been incredibly active in the current window, recruiting the likes of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko to the ranks. Fans will see if a revamped squad will pay off come Sunday, August 17, when United face Arsenal under the bright lights of the Theatre of Dreams.

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