Our team wasn’t ready for him then anyway, it’s easy to forget just how far this team has come since then, we’re now oozing class and quality all over the pitch and he’s the icing on the proverbial cake.
7
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 38
- Goals
- 24
- Assists
- 3
- Yellow cards
- 9
- Status
Yep. The idea of paying more for him than we'd sold him for didn't feel right, and the timing just wasn't right either.
He is a hero for United fans. I was at the game today and I saw more Ronaldo shirts than every other player combined. Easily. Viva Ronaldo rang out nonstop from midday at the pub I was in, the place went nuts when he was confirmed as starting. OT was deafening when his name was read out in the lineup, and the one goal would have been enough. When he made it 2-1 people were falling over each other in the stands. Just a tremendous footballer and one that we all realise we're privileged to see.
This is revisionism. 06/07 was the last season of dribbling exciting winger we saw from Ronaldo at United, in 07/08 he was all about goals and 08/09 was just a significantly worse version of 07/08 as he was looking to leave at the end of the season.
Madrid got by far the best seasons from him, 07/08 would struggle to scrape the top 5 seasons of his career, that's how good he was after he left.
He scored 5 goals against Bayern (coached by Pep), followed by 3 goals against Atletico and 2 vs Juve. Atletico and Juve have been the teams with the best defense in Europe during the last decade.People no longer knows the fecking raison d'être of a number 9 and it’s fecking exhausting.
*Score a hattrick*
bUt lOok aT hIs *checks notes* paSs aCcuRacy. anD hIs prEssiNg! thAt WaSn’t a GoOd gAmE
But, but, he didn't influence the games (which is pure bullshit, cause in that UCL season, he had many assists and put Benzema one on one with the keeper half a dozen of times). As in scoring 5 goals against a team is not influencing the game.
Only in the last 3 ties (so quarters, semis, and final) he scored 10 goals.
List of other players who have done so:
List of other players who have scored 10 or more goals in the entire KO stage:
List of other players who have scored 10 or more goals in an UCL season: Van Nistelrooy x2, Kaka, Messi x4, Neymar, Lewandowski, Haaland. Ronaldo has another 6 seasons when he managed that.
But long short story, in the final 5 matches of that season he scored 10 goals. That is unprecedented. No one else managed to do so. No other player managed to score more than 5 (Lewandowski is the only one who scored 5 in 12/13).
But, he was not influential enough!
He is inevitable 
It's sad to see how many people don't understand what a #9 does.
There is a reason to Ronaldo is leading charts. If it was this easy he wouldn't be the only one.
That second goal was a very difficult technique but to the uneducated I understand why it may seem like a tap in
Don't fall for the troll. There's a myth regarding Ronaldo being a tap in merchant. Because of the crazy goals he scores people assume they must all just be tap ins with no skill.
Luckily these people are a minority
Being honest, it's questionable whether he was more entertaining at United. Cards on the table that was just something I told myself because it was hard to accept Madrid getting his best years.
I never, fully, enjoyed Ronaldo at Madrid. Irrational? Maybe. But, to me, it was hard to accept he'd left United to give his best to another club.
Now he's come back I find I am able to be less biased about his time at Madrid. Ronaldo has never played as well for United as he did for Madrid in any sense.
He was fantastically watchable for us first time around. However, at Madrid he was consistently a level above anything we saw.
And I know how good he was for us, I remember the good times. But at Madrid he reached unthinkable levels. His application of his talent, his decision making, his ability to find space, his shooting off of both feet. Everything leveled up.
Also there's this myth that he stopped dribbling at Madrid, which is just not true. He still ran people ragged. Of course, as he aged, he applied his dribbling more close to goal to get shots off. But among his 450 goals for Madrid there are plenty that involve him leaving defenders twisted up in a heap.
Ronaldo only failed to score 50 times or more for Madrid in 3 of the 9 seasons he spent at Madrid. In two of those seasons he scored 60+ goals. He was otherworldly at Madrid.
Nowadays 30 goals a season will cost you €100m. Ronaldo at Madrid's worst season was 33 goals in all competitions. When you think of the players he's been compared to over the past week...
He was. I followed him closely in his first few years in Madrid, and his game was slowly, but surely changing (it had already started in 07-08 season). He was having less dribbles, less showing, no stepovers unless used to fool a defender. His game was becoming more refined, efficient and better, but he was less entertaining. Of course, he still had it in his locker to dribble with ease past players and occasionally would go back to him being a boy and just enjoying fooling the defenders, but for the most part, he was pure business.
He was a better player for Madrid than for us, and it is not even close. He was more entertaining for us though.
That was one helluva comeback! He made Old Trafford come alive, and he lifts the spirit of the entire team. It's nostalgia, but in the good way.
His anticipation for the first goal, and the way he managed to squeeze between two defenders was sublime. Not that many strikers anticipate that. The second goal was absolutely brilliant. The run where he keeps away from the defender, creates space for himself, outpaces the defender to get that yard he needs to get a shot away, and nicely tucked between the goalie (who admittedly won't win the motm award). He is still fast with good acceleration, but he uses it more sparingly. I recall Giggs saying that he had to play differently at 33 than at 20 because he could no longer just run past defenders. Even though his stamina levels were among the best, if not the best, at the club, his energy levels were not the same, so he felt drained after a lung busting run. I can imagine Ronaldo is feeling something similar, and thus is much more conservative when deciding on when and where to make those runs. It's not speed, it's not stamina, but when older you get more drained as it takes longer to fill the batteries. Makes sense to me.
His anticipation for the first goal, and the way he managed to squeeze between two defenders was sublime. Not that many strikers anticipate that. The second goal was absolutely brilliant. The run where he keeps away from the defender, creates space for himself, outpaces the defender to get that yard he needs to get a shot away, and nicely tucked between the goalie (who admittedly won't win the motm award). He is still fast with good acceleration, but he uses it more sparingly. I recall Giggs saying that he had to play differently at 33 than at 20 because he could no longer just run past defenders. Even though his stamina levels were among the best, if not the best, at the club, his energy levels were not the same, so he felt drained after a lung busting run. I can imagine Ronaldo is feeling something similar, and thus is much more conservative when deciding on when and where to make those runs. It's not speed, it's not stamina, but when older you get more drained as it takes longer to fill the batteries. Makes sense to me.
The bolded part is exactly how they think. You - for some reason - have to both score the goals AND be the world-class playmaker with nice stats in the pass accuracy, chance creation, and assists department. It's so tiresome and utterly unrealistic. A number nine scores goals - that's what they're there for.
Imagine a prime Ruud or Inzaghi today. They were superstars back in their day - all with a brain could see their class, yet today a tsunami of 13-year olds would be slating them in Twitter chain posts, over their lack of 40-yard-longshot goals and how they never dribble four in a row.
Thing is, he was doing excatly that. He had 5 or 6 assists that season, and created so many chances for his teammaters.
Of course, his game had been refined and he was in the thirties. He wasn't going to have 20 completed dribbles anymore (which is still the record for most completed dribl=bles in an UCL, something he achieved vs Benfica in 2006).
There has been this misconception that he became a Ruud or Inzaghi or Chicharito (although Ruudwas different to the other two) in the last few years. That is far frmo the truth. Sure, compared to his first few years at United, anyone who is not dribbling anytime they have the ball is a poacher in comparison. But he was still one of the most complete strikers ever, dribbling past players, passing, assisting. Just that he was doing it far more efficiently, and had to do it less to conserve energy. At United, he was getting the ball 30 meters from the keeper and carrying it for 50 meters before getting fouled or passing. Of course he was not going to do it in his thirties. But when he was in the final 30 meters, he was still making defenders look fools.
Imagine if he went to City and had scored the goals today for them instead. Horrible thought!
It's a fantastic goal. One of the things that has developed most about Ronnie since he was first at United is his shooting.
His ability to strike the ball earlier, with venom, off of either foot completely unsights defenders are goalkeepers constantly. Left foot or right foot, he's so good at hitting the target with minimal preparation. That allows him to catch goalkeepers before they're set to make a save, which is exactly what happened when he put us 2-1 up.
People will criticise the Newcastle keeper but he hadn't even made his first positional adjustment when Ronaldo shoots through him. He's left trying to adjust his feet to block the shot as he's prepping to face it. Can't sort out his feet. Against most strikers he'd have been fine. Most forwards can't hit the ball that hard, that quickly off their weaker foot. But, as he said to Wes Brown, Ronaldo is different.
I guess it's a question of taste. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that.
Are you feeling OK? I said that was my personal opinion. To me, he had the right balance of flair and everything else then. I even said every metric would say otherwise. "Revisionism".
He was nervous, but scored and have released l loads from his shoulders. Good start, but It’s more to come He’ll be tremendous this season
What’s Jonathan Wilson’s issue with Ronaldo? 
Another article in the guardian slating his return to United.
Another article in the guardian slating his return to United.Independence Day
I need to remind my body about that
He is a proper #9 now. The only thing missing from his locker is build up play/holding up the ball, in which I think Cavani is better. Apart from that, he is truly elite at everything else. Which is why he will have some games, where he is quiet(very few). But that's simply his game now, he is not an all action CF. I think its best if he is there as a the final target and not someone who every play goes through. I think he will get 25+ goals for us this season.
His movement alone will keep him on the score sheet, crazy he's still as sharp as he is this was a suprise for me. Not necessarily as fast but very receptive. It will be interesting to see how he adapts to different defences but this should have a very good effect on the likes of Sancho, Rashford and Greenwood who all have the qualities to lead the forward line over the next decade.
Pogba being in the team is a big plus for his distribution, I think of all the seasons for a potential Ronaldo return this has been the best one due to the personnel in the team. The biggest consequence however is the lack of a defensive midfielder, I've said it for months once a disciplined midfielder is signed Fred will be sold.
The team is very well balanced if a DM is signed either January (preferably) or the summer.
Pogba being in the team is a big plus for his distribution, I think of all the seasons for a potential Ronaldo return this has been the best one due to the personnel in the team. The biggest consequence however is the lack of a defensive midfielder, I've said it for months once a disciplined midfielder is signed Fred will be sold.
The team is very well balanced if a DM is signed either January (preferably) or the summer.
A dream second debut. Magical.
He had 23 goals and 20 assists or so over the season! Of course he redefined productivity after that, but was terrific then as well.
Just incredible. Thank you Ronnie and thank you Old Trafford for this atmosphere. Still get goosebumps when I watch the highlights.
Shame he didn't do his initiation song, would have given Scott McTominay a run for his money.
He must love the admiration he gets from our fans. He could have scored 7000 goals for Madrid und wouldn't have got the same reception as today at OT.
I thought it was a mistake to bring him back. But to see how Newcastle triple teamed him at times, creating space for the other forwards, was simply amazing. The confidence he creates is unparalleled. Hats off to management.
The story of his career is nothing special and just a lot of hype?
Yet the rest of the world recognises him as one of the greatest ever to play the game of football.
You my friend are absolutely lost. Find yourself. Choose a new sport.
Bingo. I’ll be tickled pink if Ronaldo continues to turn in 2 goal “nothing special” performances.The story of his career is nothing special and just a lot of hype?
Yet the rest of the world recognises him as one of the greatest ever to play the game of football.
You my friend are absolutely lost. Find yourself. Choose a new sport.
World class. Glad he's back.
Really endearing interview from him afterwards, I'm surprised he actually admitted he was so nervous. It really shows he does love the club; it's not just talk.
His issue is with United. He's a proper ABU.What’s Jonathan Wilson’s issue with Ronaldo?
It’s fitting he scored twice in his first game back, he was a brace merchant for us in his first spell too
I think he heard he has scored twice in a game for the 200th time for both club and country which is an amazing stat.It’s fitting he scored twice in his first game back, he was a brace merchant for us in his first spell too
That’s incredible, most players will be happy to simply score 200 goals in their career, never mind that many braces.
My heart melted when he said “I belong to Manchester”!
Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
It must be amazing for him to feel the unconditional love that United fans show him; did he get that at Real or Juve?
He's the most insufferable writer. Loves to shoe-horn references to Lobonovsky and expressions like post-Cruyffian into ever article. The definition of the guy you'd not want to be stuck chatting with at the party.
- Status