Cristiano Ronaldo | Real confirm deal

[Theonas]

Adding Ronaldo would virtually guarantee the league and going deep into the CL (potentially winning it).

That is very far fetched. He has two league titles in 9 years at Real and its not like during all those years, Barcelona were some unbeatable force, especially last year when they were very ordinary.

The other major point is about how Real and Ronaldo were basically in sleep mode for about half the season last year. That is how they and he could produce that level of performance come March/April. The year before, they had virtually two teams, one for the CL and one for the league which featured the likes of James, Morata, Asensio, Isco and co. The point is that Ronaldo has not been playing for a full campaign week in week out at a consistent level for at least 2 years now. This was no problem once because of the depth of their squad and the other time contributed in them losing the league by Christmas. So the idea that he can perform in England week in week out for 10 months which is a must to win the PL is very unrealistic. Now if we do assemble a brilliant machine-like team à la Juventus or PSG, he can definitely take us to the next level and make the difference in those very tight CL knockout games but his days of dominating a league campaign and being the difference over a whole season are most likely over.

 

[Zeki Zico]

Club must have grown a spine.
Hope he enjoys his stay at Juve.

The club got bent over by Fellaini when he demanded a contract worth £150,000 a week. So let's not talk about spine. We gave a 30 year old Alexis a crazy contract which he did not deserved.

 

[Sky1981]

I'd normally say no. But for 100m on the current market he's a bargain. Depends on how much his salary though...

The intangible value of signing ronaldo is still huge even at his current age.

I was attracted to united because of beckham, and I'd imagine the class of 92 and beckham alone contributing to our growth in becoming a global brand.

 

[Sky1981]

The club got bent over by Fellaini when he demanded a contract worth £150,000 a week. So let's not talk about spine. We gave a 30 year old Alexis a crazy contract which he did not deserved.

Sanchez is availble on free technically. If he's under a longer contract good luck paying mkhitaryan for him.

If neymar runs down his contract and only signs for those who pays him 1m/week he'd still be a bargain.

 

[trafford1980]

Adding Ronaldo would virtually guarantee the league and going deep into the CL (potentially winning it).

I don't think any single player will virtually guarantee us anything sadly.

Maybe I'm wrong, he is in phenomenal shape. He'll score goals no doubt, (I don't deny he's still lethal) as did Zlatan, but like him I just believe it's the wrong time for him to try and spearhead a Premier League title charge. I can just see him getting frustrated if he returns. We're a lot worse a team than the one he left us with and he's no longer a marauding winger.

Wrong thread, but if Ed was intent on lining Madrid's pockets for their next great purchase then I'd probably go for Gareth Bale instead.

 

[Raoul]

That is very far fetched. He has two league titles in 9 years at Real and its not like during all those years, Barcelona were some unbeatable force, especially last year when they were very ordinary.

The other major point is about how Real and Ronaldo were basically in sleep mode for about half the season last year. That is how they and he could produce that level of performance come March/April. The year before, they had virtually two teams, one for the CL and one for the league which featured the likes of James, Morata, Asensio, Isco and co. The point is that Ronaldo has not been playing for a full campaign week in week out at a consistent level for at least 2 years now. This was no problem once because of the depth of their squad and the other time contributed in them losing the league by Christmas. So the idea that he can perform in England week in week out for 10 months which is a must to win the PL is very unrealistic. Now if we do assemble a brilliant machine-like team à la Juventus or PSG, he can definitely take us to the next level and make the difference in those very tight CL knockout games but his days of dominating a league campaign and being the difference over a whole season are most likely over.

That's because he's had to contend with arguably the greatest club side in history with one of the greatest players ever. There's no such problem here in England. Although City did very well last year there is no guarantee they will continue that form since each of their previous recent league wins has resulted in someone else winning it the following year. The league is literally wide open next year and the clubs who load up on the best players will each have a legit chance at winning it.

 

[Raoul]

I don't think any single player will virtually guarantee us anything sadly.

Maybe I'm wrong, he is in phenomenal shape. He'll score goals no doubt, (I don't deny he's still lethal) as did Zlatan, but like him I just believe it's the wrong time for him to try and spearhead a Premier League title charge. I can just see him getting frustrated if he returns. We're a lot worse a team than the one he left us with and he's no longer a marauding winger.

Wrong thread, but if Ed was intent on lining Madrid's pockets for their next great purchase then I'd probably go for Gareth Bale instead.

Obviously I meant that adding Ronaldo in addition to what we have would be sufficient to get the job done.

 

[BillyJoel]

Rumour going round, that Juve will present him the 7th of july.

07/07 - CR7

Heh

 

[Raoul]

No player in the world guarantees anything, if you think Ronaldo guarantees a league title how did Madrid finish 17 points behind Barcelona this season?

Signing Ronaldo would make no sense for United and it would make no sense for Ronaldo to go to United at this stage of his career.

Barca are simply a more loaded team who distribute their attack more evenly than Madrid do. Case in point - Ronaldo contributed more goals for Madrid than Benzema, Isco, and Bale combined. Messi has Suarez and Coutinho to share that burden. They are simply better equipped to win the league. Ronaldo, if he came to United, would be in a similar situation with Lukaku and potentially Alexis.

 

[Zeki Zico]

Obviously I meant that adding Ronaldo in addition to what we have would be sufficient to get the job done.

Adding Ronaldo would definitely give us a massive boost. But it wouldn't be the final piece to the puzzle, we still need a CB, LB and RM to be able to fully compete with the the elite.

 

[Patrick08]

That is very far fetched. He has two league titles in 9 years at Real and its not like during all those years, Barcelona were some unbeatable force, especially last year when they were very ordinary.

The other major point is about how Real and Ronaldo were basically in sleep mode for about half the season last year. That is how they and he could produce that level of performance come March/April. The year before, they had virtually two teams, one for the CL and one for the league which featured the likes of James, Morata, Asensio, Isco and co. The point is that Ronaldo has not been playing for a full campaign week in week out at a consistent level for at least 2 years now. This was no problem once because of the depth of their squad and the other time contributed in them losing the league by Christmas. So the idea that he can perform in England week in week out for 10 months which is a must to win the PL is very unrealistic. Now if we do assemble a brilliant machine-like team à la Juventus or PSG, he can definitely take us to the next level and make the difference in those very tight CL knockout games but his days of dominating a league campaign and being the difference over a whole season are most likely over.

That's on Madrid though as a whole team, Ronaldo on the other hand has been consistently scoring 40-50 goals through out the season every season pretty much consistently. Madrid as a collective unit were not consistent enough to win league titles as they didn't find the right balance in their team until they got Zidane as their Manager. Ronaldo is the least to blame for their limited league success. The constant change of Play styles and management does not help if you want to be consistent in the league campaign.

Barcelona on the other hand play one way, and never change their Play style no matter who they hire, or what system they play which adds to their consistencyin league campaign. Madrid has been pretty much a one man team since benzema had regressed and Bale was having consistent injury problems in the league campaign and ronaldo has carried that burden more than anyone else in that team.

Ronaldo can still be that impact player or a difference maker in the fully functional team needing ruthlessness and his ability to impact tight games still remains on that same level.

 

[Raoul]

Adding Ronaldo would definitely give us a massive boost. But it wouldn't be the final piece to the puzzle, we still need a CB, LB and RM to be able to fully compete with the the elite.

In terms of winning the league I don't think we are far off. Our biggest problem is comfortably our lack of goals in the final third. City didn't win the league because they bought Danilo and Mendy, they won it because the likes of Sterling contributed 23 goals and took a considerable amount of the burden from Aguero's shoulders, which when combined with De Bruyne's great year and the contributions of Sane and Jesus, consistently kept them two steps ahead of us. While we floundered with a series of draws over the holidays, they pulled away for good.

 

[Patrick08]

The league is literally wide open next year and the clubs who load up on the best players will each have a legit chance at winning it.

I would refrain from saying so. If city add Jorginho and Mahrez to their squad with a fully fit Mendy , the league title will be a two front race again and the onus will be on us to improve otherwise city can walk it again. Expecting a slump in their campaign is Wishful thinking to be honest.

 

[trafford1980]

Obviously I meant that adding Ronaldo in addition to what we have would be sufficient to get the job done.

No problem. I mistakenly left out the word 'signing.' I meant to write that I don't believe signing any single player would virtually guarantee us the league. So in my opinion, Dalot, Fred and Ronaldo wouldn't get it done. I'm not for signing Ronaldo but if he was the incoming cherry on top of another 1 or 2 players in positions of need then I'd probably concede that we would be odds on to win everything.

 

[Raoul]

I would refrain from saying so. If city add Jorginho and Mahrez to their squad with a fully fit Mendy , the league title will be a two front race again and the onus will be on us to improve otherwise city can walk it again. Expecting a slump in their campaign is Wishful thinking to be honest.

Agreed on City. I expect Arsenal and Liverpool to improve as well. Of course, adding players is only part of the equation. Its even more important to get your existing ones to perform at a higher level.

 

[Green_Red]

Again there is no way to guarantee that and Zlatan was free.



Again I doubt vidic and Rio lost the drive. There's just so much you can do and luck plays a huge part in it.

Spot on. If Ronaldo was coming to United for free then nobody would dispute it. But 100 million? Not worth the risk. Who's to say he'll last more than a season or two at that intense level. The deal could end up costing Juve a fortune.

 

[Raoul]

Spot on. If Ronaldo was coming to United for free then nobody would dispute it. But 100 million? Not worth the risk. Who's to say he'll last more than a season or two at that intense level. The deal could end up costing Juve a fortune.

A season or two of success would be more than worth it. Alternatively, we could flounder between 2nd to 4th for the next few years while watching City and Pool win the league and Juventus win a couple of CLs.

 

[maniwin]

Adding Ronaldo would virtually guarantee the league and going deep into the CL (potentially winning it).

If any he would threw tantrum in our dressing room with the services he got here.
No winger and fullback who could provide him with first time cross , no midfielder with an eye for pass , would have a meltdown with Jose at any moment.

 

[Raoul]

If any he would threw tantrum in our dressing room with the services he got here.
No winger and fullback who could provide him with first time cross , no midfielder with an eye for pass , would have a meltdown with Jose at any moment.

Maybe we should buy Paul Pogba to take care of that bit.

 

[maniwin]

Maybe we should buy Paul Pogba to take care of that bit.

Pogba always prefer lobbed pass instead of ground through pass, he isn't better passer than either Modric or Kross or ozil back then in term of feeding forward and our fullback is literally impotent compared to Madrid fullback.

 

[Terminator]

I dont get the Zlatan comparisons, Ronaldo is a far superior player and is at the peak of his physical fitness now.

 

[Loublaze]

A season or two of success would be more than worth it. Alternatively, we could flounder between 2nd to 4th for the next few years while watching City and Pool win the league and Juventus win a couple of CLs.

Sounds like Ronaldo or bust! Is this how you genuinely feel about United winning the title anytime soon?

 

[Raoul]

Pogba always prefer lobbed pass instead of ground through pass, he isn't better passer than either Modric or Kross or ozil back then in term of feeding forward and our fullback is literally impotent compared to Madrid fullback.

Pogba - Fred- Matic ...they can all pass a football. Ronaldo doesn't need some sort of magician in midfield to be successful. Just get him the ball.

 

[Raoul]

Sounds like Ronaldo or bust! Is this how you genuinely feel about United winning the title anytime soon?

I see it as a simple matter of needing more goals, which Ronaldo, more so than just about anyone in the world, could instantly provide. City scored 38 more goals than we did last year and we have to bridge that gap to catch them. Part of that can come from making our existing players produce more as Pep did at City last year with the likes of Sterling. The other part comes from adding a new player who can contribute another 30 or so. Buying players like Willian or the like won't get the job done I'm afraid. We would simply be here in 12 months having the same chat all over again. City scored 106 goals to our 68. Our league position won't change for the better until we close that gap significantly.

 

[Loublaze]

You're from Atlanta. You don't have the right to an opinion.

Atlanta sports teams suck in general yes but Atlanta United are tearing it up in the MLS. Feel free to share your city's illustrious soccer history. I genuinely asked because i've met more than my fair share of fans from the Toronto area who mirror your unwavering loyalty towards Ronaldo and unfortunately generally lack knowledge in everything non-Ronaldo related.

 

[gr3yham3]

In terms of winning the league I don't think we are far off. Our biggest problem is comfortably our lack of goals in the final third. City didn't win the league because they bought Danilo and Mendy, they won it because the likes of Sterling contributed 23 goals and took a considerable amount of the burden from Aguero's shoulders, which when combined with De Bruyne's great year and the contributions of Sane and Jesus, consistently kept them two steps ahead of us. While we floundered with a series of draws over the holidays, they pulled away for good.

Agree with this. If Ronaldo was "happy" at Real and did not want to leave, I can understand, but now that it seems quite clear he is leaving, I think we should at least get a sniff in, no matter how unrealistic it might be. The amount of goals he can bring to the team is crazy. For Jose's seasons so far, we have been very reliant on 1 player to get those goals for us - either Zlatan or Lukaku. With Ronaldo, we have another massive goal threat to deal with. Lukaku will have someone in the box to look for when he pulls wide right, the team will have 2 options who are great in the air to aim at if we are chasing a goal and facing a team who has 10 men behind the ball where playing through the middle is meaningless. Lukaku has less of a burden to score, just like how in the Belgium team he has Hazard or Mertens to pick up the slack when he is double marked.

What about Martial (if he stays) or Rashford? I think they have yet to show that consistency in front of goal - look what happened when Lukaku was out injured last season? They are still young and not everyone is a goal scoring machine like Messi/Ronaldo were at those ages. A 4312 will suit all our current attackers, as well as Ronaldo, better too, rather than forcing them to play wide left/right.

 

[Loublaze]

I see it as a simple matter of needing more goals, which Ronaldo, more so than just about anyone in the world, could instantly provide. City scored 38 more goals than we did last year and we have to bridge that gap to catch them. Part of that can come from making our existing players produce more as Pep did at City last year with the likes of Sterling. The other part comes from adding a new player who can contribute another 30 or so. Buying players like Willian or the like won't get the job done I'm afraid. We would simply be here in 12 months having the same chat all over again. City scored 106 goals to our 68. Our league position won't change for the better until we close that gap significantly.

I agree with everything you've said, but if Pep gets his players to produce at the same levels I don't see anyone stopping them for the next few seasons. I hope im wrong but Mourinho's template is just not good enough to usurp City IMO. If Mourinho is finally going to shake off the shadow Pep has cast over him since his time at Real he'll have to do something completely different and the chances of that happening are slim seeing how stubborn he is. Perhaps im a bit of a defeatist. I don't think even Ronaldo would guarantee us PL glory in this setup. He'd definitely improve our attack exponentially.

 

[gr3yham3]

I agree with everything you've said, but if Pep gets his players to produce at the same levels I don't see anyone stopping them for the next few seasons. I hope im wrong but Mourinho's template is just not good enough to usurp City IMO. If Mourinho is finally going to shake off the shadow Pep has cast over him since his time at Real he'll have to do something completely different and the chances of that happening are slim seeing how stubborn he is. Perhaps im a bit of a defeatist. I don't think even Ronaldo would guarantee us PL glory in this setup. He'd definitely improve our attack exponentially.

It's not that easy to maintain those standards though - how many fantastic teams have maintained those standards over a few seasons?

 

[Raoul]

I agree with everything you've said, but if Pep gets his players to produce at the same levels I don't see anyone stopping them for the next few seasons. I hope im wrong but Mourinho's template is just not good enough to usurp City IMO. If Mourinho is finally going to shake off the shadow Pep has cast over him since his time at Real he'll have to do something completely different and the chances of that happening are slim seeing how stubborn he is. Perhaps im a bit of a defeatist. I don't think even Ronaldo would guarantee us PL glory in this setup. He'd definitely improve our attack exponentially.

Mourinho's approach generally works if he has an attack that balances his defensive approach. In order for that to happen you have to have an attack that is potent enough to bail your out of situations where the oppositions are up a goal or two. Ronaldo aside, we need another player who can make that sort of thing happen. If Bale is available, we should be in for him.

 

[Patrick08]

It's not that easy to maintain those standards though - how many fantastic teams have maintained those standards over a few seasons?

It is when the Epl teams first reaction to other teams dominating the ball is to set 2 banks of 4 in their own defensive half and ride on their luck that they nick a goal on the counter or set pieces with the attacking team having 2-3 brilliant playmakers and passers on attacking mode.

 

[Raoul]

What about Martial (if he stays) or Rashford? I think they have yet to show that consistency in front of goal - look what happened when Lukaku was out injured last season? They are still young and not everyone is a goal scoring machine like Messi/Ronaldo were at those ages. A 4312 will suit all our current attackers, as well as Ronaldo, better too, rather than forcing them to play wide left/right.

I expect bigger and better things from both of them next year as both their futures are on the line.

 

[Gasolin]

What does that mean?

It means that investors believe in the fact that buying Ronaldo will lead to a better situation sports wise for Juventus.

 

[gr3yham3]

It is when the Epl teams first reaction to other teams dominating the ball is to set 2 banks of 4 in their own defensive half and ride on their luck that they nick a goal on the counter or set pieces with the attacking team having 2-3 brilliant playmakers and passers on attacking mode.

I think we do have enough to create through Pogba or Sanchez or even Lukaku, but I remember many occasions when we had the ball and everyone was just looking to drop deep to get it rather than staying in the box or making runs to receive them in dangerous areas. Such a massive goal threat like Ronaldo cannot be ignored by opponents, and they have to divide their attention between him and Lukaku - no easy task.

I expect bigger and better things from both of them next year.

So do I, but if Ronaldo comes, most likely Rashford and Martial will be the backup "front 2" in a 4312 formation, no? Also will give them the time and space to develop and be more consistent under less pressure. We can rest Ronaldo or Lukaku, knowing that we can have Rashford or Martial partnering one of them upfront instead. Will help a lot in their development I feel.

 

[Raoul]

I think we do have enough to create through Pogba or Sanchez or even Lukaku, but I remember many occasions when we had the ball and everyone was just looking to drop deep to get it rather than staying in the box or making runs to receive them in dangerous areas. Such a massive goal threat like Ronaldo cannot be ignored by opponents, and they have to divide their attention between him and Lukaku - no easy task.



So do I, but if Ronaldo comes, most likely Rashford and Martial will be the backup "front 2" in a 4312 formation, no? Also will give them the time and space to develop and be more consistent under less pressure. We can rest Ronaldo or Lukaku, knowing that we can have Rashford or Martial partnering one of them upfront instead. Will help a lot in their development I feel.

The Ronaldo thing is just a thought experiment. Fully expect him to either stay with Madrid or move to Juve. Bale, on the other hand....

 

[Loublaze]

It's not that easy to maintain those standards though - how many fantastic teams have maintained those standards over a few seasons?

Pep did it with Barcelona and Bayern. Im not speaking in terms of City replicating last season in terms of the records they broke and points they accumulated. I can definitely see them reclaiming the title though and putting a stamp on their dominance.

Mourinho's approach generally works if he has an attack that balances his defensive approach. In order for that to happen you have to have an attack that is potent enough to bail your out of situations where the oppositions are up a goal or two. Ronaldo aside, we need another player who can make that sort of thing happen. If Bale is available, we should be in for him.

I highly doubt we'd be able to make those two signings in the same season im afraid. Bale has a huge chance to get the bigger role he craves if Ronaldo leaves and I think he'll get it under Lopetegui. I don't know who else we could get in with that quality this summer.

 

[gr3yham3]

The Ronaldo thing is just a thought experiment. Fully expect him to either stay with Madrid or move to Juve. Bale, on the other hand....

Hrm, will Real allow Bale to leave after Ronaldo goes? A bit hard to see it happening. But let's not turn this into a Bale thread.

Will be the most gazumping of transfers if we manage to get Ronaldo back though - can't see it happening due to the myriad of reasons.

 

[gr3yham3]

Pep did it with Barcelona and Bayern. Im not speaking in terms of City replicating last season in terms of the records they broke and points they accumulated. I can definitely see them reclaiming the title though and putting a stamp on their dominance.

That Barca team was something else though - I don't think we will see the likes of it again, just like we will never see the Class of 92 again. Bayern was a one-horse race in the league and if he did not win, it would have been a massive failure. And he did not win the UCL with them, so it can be seen as a step back for them after the treble under Heynckes. As much as City have been good this season, I think it was more of our own failures and other teams who sat back too much against them, not to mention they have an almost spotless injury record last season with regards to their key players.

 

[Sereques]

No one was going to pay 200M for any player in the world back in 2009, even in 2017 Neymar going for 220M was mind boggling.

They would have paid at least 180M. They were desperate back then.

 

[Suedesi]

It means that investors believe in the fact that buying Ronaldo will lead to a better situation sports wise for Juventus.

Sports wise or financial wise?

 

[lysglimt]

A season or two of success would be more than worth it. Alternatively, we could flounder between 2nd to 4th for the next few years while watching City and Pool win the league and Juventus win a couple of CLs.

Ronaldo is probably one of few players in the World who would be decent business at £80 million - even at his age. He can easily dominate football for 3-4 more seasons.