Is Cristiano Ronaldo a United legend? | Poll added

[RAVred]

You can be a legend without loving the club, as long as you were passionate for it when you played and gave it your all.

To me he is a legend, he is disrespectful at times but hes still a legend. I also dont think someone like Rio Ferdinand loved the club, but hes also a legend to me

 

[Sgt.Major]

I voted for the second option, but right now I'm struggling to think about anyone else who'd go to the same category with him. Joined as a talented kid, achieved great success and then left only to win much more than with us. I cannot recall of another player with the same path, at least not in United's history.

 

[iluvoursolskjær]

A legend of the game that played for us. That's about it.

Is Figo a Barcelona legend?

 

[RuudTom83]

If he’s NOT then god help anyone else trying to get the ‘Legend’ tag.

 

[11clarkie11]

Of course he is. The passion he showed in his years here aswell as the performances he put in are not questionable.

So what, he craved the move to Madrid, a dream he always held. But while here he gave us moments we loved, had us all on the edge of our seats.

If you can’t consider him a legend after what he gave us you can’t consider a lot of United players legends. My most enjoyable years watching United were watching Ronaldo.

 

[OJKernow]

The best player I've ever seen in a United shirt.

A legend of the modern game.

Didn't have the longevity, or majority of his best years here to warrant being a 'United legend' in my eyes, but can understand why others would label him as one.

 

[Matt007a]

Legendary player for sure, but I wouldn't regard him as a club legend in the same way as say Charlton or Giggs.

He's on a tier just below the legends of the club for me. His 42 goal season is arguably the greatest of any United player ever. To be a club legend though, you've got to have something else to go with being a world class player. You've got to be synonymous with the club. United are not the first club people think of for Ronaldo.

 

[spiriticon]

Won everything there is to win with us, and a Ballon D'Or winner while with us.

Of course he is. One or our magnificent Sevens.

 

[The holy trinity 68]

2004/05 was the only season where Rooney did better than Ronaldo... and Ronaldo had 3.5 amazing years at United, not 2.

He was incredible from halfway through 2005/06 and made it to the Premier League team of the year then. Rooney was more highly rated for a while because he was english, he wasn’t a better player.

Ronaldo was misused at United for a fairly long time as he was playing too far from goal, for his first couple of years he was twice as good for Portugal than he was for United because of it.

When Ronaldo left United, Rooney spearheaded the team on the way to 2 CL finals. Rooney was a great player before before Ronaldo and was a great player when Ronaldo left.

 

[Hamadovich86]

When Ronaldo left United, Rooney spearheaded the team on the way to 2 CL finals. Rooney was a great player before before Ronaldo and was a great player when Ronaldo left.

One final, Ronaldo was here for 2009.

Ronaldo is arguably one of the greatest players of all time, for some he is the best. He won everything with us and was pivotal to our resurgence in the mid 00s. He gave his best to Real Madrid and threw a fit leave us but I still think hes a club legend. Length of time spent at the club shouldnt be the only deciding point otherwise Cantona would be disqualified.

 

[Todd]

My brain says no, my heart says yes

 

[kambinks]

Purely based of his ability and contributions to Moscow and the few seasons before it puts him close to the top but wouldn't classify him close to the clubs trinity, and the ones that shows they have contributed to United success for longer and are passionate about the club. Not above Giggsy, Scholes, Robson, Cantona and Bruce. Still a legend mind you. Just not in the upper tiers of the club.

 

[Vault Dweller]

It’s not even up for debate in my eyes, of course he is.

@SirAF back me up!

 

[Paxi]

Every United fan deep down knows that Cristiano Ronaldo is a United legend, the ones who don't agree are either too young to remember or are still very hurt for him leaving, even the club Manchester United officially regards him as a legend.
Ronaldo brought me to football, made me to start watching United... before I became a Madrid fan.
The only people that ategreater legends than him are Best, Cantona and Giggs.
Cristiano Ronaldo is a Manchester United legend, he is also a Madrid legend...though more of a Madrid legend, and he could potentially become a Juve legend.
This is Cristiano Ronaldo we're talking about, not some random great player...if he could play for 50 years, he could be a legend of 5 clubs, that's how legendary he is

 

[Random Task]

One final, Ronaldo was here for 2009.

Ronaldo is arguably one of the greatest players of all time, for some he is the best. He won everything with us and was pivotal to our resurgence in the mid 00s. He gave his best to Real Madrid and threw a fit leave us but I still think hes a club legend. Length of time spent at the club shouldnt be the only deciding point otherwise Cantona would be disqualified.

I mean surely these reasons alone would disqualify a person from becoming a United legend.

United was a mere stepping stone for Ronnie as he made his way to the club of his dreams, Real Madrid. He is a Real legend, not a United one.

 

[2 man midfield]

Second option is safest. In years to come we’ll look back on that 2008 team and he’ll be fondly remembered as a member of it who raised us up a level when he became world class. But he’ll never be in the upper tier with the likes of Giggs, Scholes, Cantona etc.

 

[iluvoursolskjær]

Legendary player for sure, but I wouldn't regard him as a club legend in the same way as say Charlton or Giggs.

He's on a tier just below the legends of the club for me. His 42 goal season is arguably the greatest of any United player ever. To be a club legend though, you've got to have something else to go with being a world class player. You've got to be synonymous with the club. United are not the first club people think of for Ronaldo.

Exactly this.

 

[Schneckerl]

Why is there this consensus that a player can't be a legend at two clubs? Truly special players can. For example, it's difficult to argue Cruyff isn't both an Ajax and a Barcelona legend.

I don't think there is a consensus like that. It's just the circumstances in Ronaldo's case which raise some questionmarks.

 

[Trizy]

Of course he's a legend. Just like Keane is. I see people questioning his love for the club, do you honestly think Keane gave a feck about United? Nope. Didn't stop his passion towards winning, though.

I think you have to be a genuine fan of the club from a young age to really love a club. Not every club has a modern legend that were fans (Scholes, Beckham, Xavi, Gerrard, Iniesta). Football nowadays is just a job/employer. This shows when clubs have a rough period, some players down tools while others fight tooth and nail. Topic for another conversation, though.

 

[Mastadon]

Ridiculous and also proof that people are basing this on his overall career and not purely his time in Manchester. If Ronaldo had flopped at Madrid like Kaka instead of turning into what he has become, this thread wouldn't even exist.

Half of Ronaldo's United time was development. He didn't even reach 30 goals in all competitions in his first 3 seasons and people doubted whether he would ever score enough goals. His real breakout was in 06/07, his peak form in 07/08 which he could not maintain in 08/09 and that was that.

His impact at United was arguably smaller than the one Neymar had at Barca in his time there. 105 goals in 4 seasons, including a treble vs. 118 goals in 6 seasons. Now ask Barca fans if Neymar would even make a top 200 Barca legends list after he left.

What a strange fixation many United fans have with this guy, unbelievable.

Neymar never won the ballon d’or and was on the same team as Messi. Ronaldo is if I’m not mistaken the only PL player to have won the world player of the year award I know Owen won something but it wasn’t the same as there were 2 awards. Ronaldo was very clearly the main star at United in a way that Neymar never was at Barca.

Probably would have been easier if he signed for Arsenal instead in 03/04 then we would have won a bunch more trophies and he could be an Arsenal legend instead and save you lot from this troublesome debate.

 

[steffyr2]

Weird how people seem to think that becoming a better player after you leave is somehow disqualifying, and failing to do that is not. If David Beckham had done better at real Madrid, would he be kicked off the list?

 

[Random Task]

Weird how people seem to think that becoming a better player after you leave is somehow disqualifying, and failing to do that is not. If David Beckham had done better at real Madrid, would he be kicked off the list?

Is Becks to be considered a United legend, though?

 

[Matt007a]

I wouldn't consider Beckham a club legend. It's a title that should really be exclusive to a very select few. Great player for us none the less and probably the best crosser ever to play the game.

 

[iluvoursolskjær]

Class of 92, about 10 odd trophies including our famous treble, iconic #7, is a United fan and probs wouldn’t have left the club f he weren’t forced out. Becks is a club legend for me.

But then I guess we all have our own interpretation of the term legend. Maybe what I described was more a club icon? I dunno.

Edit: Probably just a club great actually.

 

[Peyroteo]

When Ronaldo left United, Rooney spearheaded the team on the way to 2 CL finals. Rooney was a great player before before Ronaldo and was a great player when Ronaldo left.

1 CL final and you were half the team you were in the Ronaldo years then. Only reason you made it to a CL final after Ronaldo left was an incredibly easy draw. Not much to do with Rooney at all regardless of how great he was.

 

[Utd7]

He’s obviously a club legend. He spent 6 magical seasons with us and won everything you could win from a personal (Ballon d’Or) and club level (CL, EPL) standpoint.

Anyone who says otherwise is clearly bitter over his decision to leave and challenge himself elsewhere which is completely fine.

The sense of entitlement from some fans that a player is obligated to stay with a team for the duration of his career is pathetic.

Some people are mobile and like to challenge and reinvent themselves (Ronaldo). Others prefer to stay in one place and never leave (Giggs). One approach isn’t better. Just depends on an individual mindset.

 

[GM K]

Legend: "...an extremely famous or notorious person, especially in a particular field."

Yes, Cristiano is a Manchester United Football Club legend.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Roughly similar ratio to "Is Rooney a United Legend?" 2015 thread. The later 2017 "Rooney Legend" thread sang similar song.

Spoiler

https://www.redcafe.net/threads/is-...nk-among-the-united-greats-poll-added.409059/
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/wayne-rooney-manchester-united-legend.430493/

Oh, number of active posters are growing, more now. Spiked because of Mourinho?
+ 2018 > 2017 > 2015
+ 1,700 > 1,600 > 900

Rooney having the advantage (~+5%) for staying a lot longer.

Long story short, majority of posters would tag R2 -- Ronaldo(~79%) and Rooney(~85%) as United legends.

 

[Hamadovich86]

I mean surely these reasons alone would disqualify a person from becoming a United legend.

United was a mere stepping stone for Ronnie as he made his way to the club of his dreams, Real Madrid. He is a Real legend, not a United one.

Disagree, whilst his best was left for Real, he is easily the best most talented player we've had since he come to United until now. You could make the argument that he is the best player to ever wear our shirt! Length of time is not a factor for me, the fact that he achieved more with another club is not a big factor either.

 

[Flanders Devil]

The question for me is can a player be option 1 for more than one club. I don’t think so. He is option 1 for Madrid. Option 2 for us.

Still love him though, and still a legend.

 

[Eric's Seagull]

Although he will always be remembered as a Real Madrid legend and rightly so.

I think he deserves legendary status for him his contribution, both for the collective and individual effort. A joy to watch. Ronaldo second favourite player for us behind George Best, although I admit to seeing a lot more of the former. For him to come here as a skinny kid full of tricks and develop into the best player of the in the takes some doing.

If Tevez didn't go City I think Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez would have been worthy of having their own statue here.

 

[redmanx]

No, but he is arguably the best player ever to play for the club.

Ronaldo was/is a fabulous player but the best I ever saw was George Best, the most exciting Denis Law and the most explosive Bobby Charlton.

 

[The holy trinity 68]

One final, Ronaldo was here for 2009.

Ronaldo is arguably one of the greatest players of all time, for some he is the best. He won everything with us and was pivotal to our resurgence in the mid 00s. He gave his best to Real Madrid and threw a fit leave us but I still think hes a club legend.

One of the greatest players of all time for Real Madrid, not for United.

For me legend is banded about too much. I would say there are only about 10 United legends. The rest are club icons etc, but not legends.

 

[Casanova85]

Of course he is. Plus here he was much more likeable and less anxious about his ego and status.

 

[RoyH1]

I voted no. When all is said and done he'll be remembered for his body of work with Real Madrid. 311 goals in 292 games are just mind boggling. He left us when when he reached his peak and gave them his best years.

 

[Casanova85]

Some people here pretending that the three consecutive 2007-2009 PL plus the 2008 CL are not his legacy!

And SAF considers him a legend, and that should end the debate.

 

[Denis79]

The best player I've seen play for us and a icon for the club but for me he's not a legend. All about how you define the word legend I guess. Best, Law, Sir Charlton, Cantona and I have to add Rooney are names I think of when someone says legends. But that's me.

 

[Reddy Rederson]

Some people here pretending that the three consecutive 2007-2009 PL plus the 2008 CL are not his legacy!

And SAF considers him a legend, and that should end the debate.

Hes a legend of the game, theres a difference.

 

[Casanova85]

I guess many would also say Becks is not a ManUtd legend

 

[Deleted member 101472]

I guess many would also say Becks is not a ManUtd legend

People like their legends best years to be at the club the support, which Beckham’s were.