Is Cristiano Ronaldo a United Legend?

[Garethw]

We have only won the Champions League three times, so I would say that anybody that played a part during those three seasons is automatically a legend.

Then you have individuals like Robson, Cantona, Bruce and Hughes that were instrumental in us regaining our place at the top of the table in English football. They all have legendary status imo.

Ronaldo gets the status for being part of that legendary team back in 2008.

If he had left us without a CL win I wouldn’t have his individual time here as legendary at all.

 

[Judge Red]

I think we have the right to decide that a thundercnut is not eligible for legendary status.

 

[phelans shorts]

We have only won the Champions League three times, so I would say that anybody that played a part during those three seasons is automatically a legend.

Then you have individuals like Robson, Cantona, Bruce and Hughes that were instrumental in us regaining our place at the top of the table in English football. They all have legendary status imo.

Ronaldo gets the status for being part of that legendary team back in 2008.

If he had left us without a CL win I wouldn’t have his individual time here as legendary at all.

He’s significantly behind the likes of David May, Jesper Blomqvist and Johnny Aston by your metric.

 

[Gehrman]

No being a legend at Man Utd is not solely about ability. It goes some way, but actually showing some commitment and affection for the club is part of it too. He's spent half of his time in both stints wanting out and being petulant and even more immature this time around where he is supposed be mature and a great leader and all that which he blatantly isn't. He's a Man Utd icon for me. Bobby Charlton is a legend. So is Scholes, Cantona and Giggs(despite his off the pitch revelations). Beckham also always considered Man Utd his home despite the move

 

[norm87cro]

This is a good precise. I thought he was actually quite quite against Chelsea in Moscow but without his goals we wouldn't have won the PL that year. Must admit, don't remember the penalty miss against Barca. For me, "legend" means many things - I don't particularly see Giggs as one but I do Beckham (hard to explain other than Becks was United through and through, we've all seen him in his United shirt as a kid at Spurs). People accuse me of being a Ronaldo fan boy, but in the thread about our top 10 players of all time, I actually forgot him in my first two drafts...

Look it up. First game at the Camp. We had a penalty in the first 10 and he missed it. After that we defened for our lives.

 

[manutddjw]

Legend indeed.

Compared being here to slavery, had zero qualms about joining City, openly tried to leave again and did an interview slagging off the entire club.

how any united fan can continue to defend and worship him is amazing. He doesn’t care about united. The only reason he’s here is because we offered him more than our local rivals did because they knew Halaand next season was the real prize. Go watch his self serving documentary. United is barely featured. He spends more time talking about Sporting than he does about united.

 

[matt10000]

A Man Utd football legend yes but not a Man Utd person legend.

I never thought we should have resigned him, undermined Ole’s rebuild totally.

 

[JJ12]

I am not sure what's changed.

For years many people convinced us that he is our biggest legend exclusively because he's won Ballon d'Or playing for us while we also won the CL that year. I don't think any of those arguments changed.

Have you just come out of a coma?

 

[Zen86]

He’s not a legend. He was a great player who left in dickish circumstances shortly after establishing himself, then returned on an enormous wage and will once again leave in in shit circumstances. He doesn’t love the club and I doubt he will speak fondly of us in future.

Keane, Rooney, and others have had their moments, but they were ultimately far better servants of the club and didn’t kick up half the fuss that Ronaldo has during his stints here either side of his peak.

 

[Zen86]

A Man Utd football legend yes but not a Man Utd person legend.

I never thought we should have resigned him, undermined Ole’s rebuild totally.

Yep. People are quick to point to Ronaldo being the underlying issue behind Rangnick’s tenure here, but team chemistry quite clearly deteriorated from the moment we signed him. Arguably both managers seem to have pandered to him, ETH has been able to take a firmer stance however.

 

[Vidic178]

I think in a few years time when things die down he'll still be viewed as a legend.

Regardless of his character, 2006-09 Ronaldo is the best United player of the last 50 years. Better than the likes of Giggs, Rooney, Scholes and Cantona. Anyone who watched him during that time knows he wasn't just a goalscorer back then, one of the most complete attackers ever.

 

[redmanx]

Desperation. They’re having a poor season for their standards and need someone established who will smash a few goals in during the second half of the season

Liverpool will finish in the top 3 despite their poor start, they dont need Ronaldo any more than we do.

 

[united_99]

Have you just come out of a coma?

I get his point. Ronaldo agreed with Blatter‘s slavery comments, spent his prime somewhere else, never even bothered about United after leaving (yes he may have affection for SAF but not for United), and was still seen as one of our legend. So in terms of all those things hardly anything has changed. Yes he gave this horrible interview, but not sure if this is worse or his behaviour in the summer of 2008.

 

[JJ12]

I get his point. Ronaldo agreed with Blatter‘s slavery comments, spent his prime somewhere else, never even bothered about United after leaving (yes he may have affection for SAF but not for United), and was still seen as one of our legend. So in terms of all those things hardly anything has changed. Yes he gave this horrible interview, but not sure if this is worse or his behaviour in the summer of 2008.

That’s an absolutely bizarre take.

He didn’t bother turning up for pre season, tried to leave all summer, left before the end of 2 games (refusing to come on in one) then did an interview about not respecting his manager and the rest of that tyre fire of an interview.

 

[AndySmith1990]

We have only won the Champions League three times, so I would say that anybody that played a part during those three seasons is automatically a legend.

Then you have individuals like Robson, Cantona, Bruce and Hughes that were instrumental in us regaining our place at the top of the table in English football. They all have legendary status imo.

Ronaldo gets the status for being part of that legendary team back in 2008.

If he had left us without a CL win I wouldn’t have his individual time here as legendary at all.

Guess Avram Grant must be a Chelsea legend seeing as they've won the CL even less than we have, if that's the only criteria we're using to define what makes a club legend

 

[united_99]

That’s an absolutely bizarre take.

He didn’t bother turning up for pre season, tried to leave all summer, left before the end of 2 games (refusing to come on in one) then did an interview about not respecting his manager and the rest of that tyre fire of an interview.

It was a horrible behaviour and I hope he never plays again for us. But I don’t know what has changed. I find disrespecting teammates/club/manager who you played with/for for 5 years and won everything with (2008) even worse than doing the same with a manager you have only played for a few months.

 

[Garethw]

Guess Avram Grant must be a Chelsea legend seeing as they've won the CL even less than we have, if that's the only criteria we're using to define what makes a club legend

It’s not the only criteria and I never said it was.

 

[JJ12]

It was a horrible behaviour and I hope he never plays again for us. But I don’t know what has changed. I find disrespecting teammates/club/manager who you played with/for for 5 years and won everything with (2008) even worse than doing the same with a manager you have only played for a few months.

I think we’ll just agree to disagree about 2 completely different situations and how they were dealt with.

 

[Kaos]

He's Tevez and Heinze levels. And before anyone laughs at me - he was more than willing to join City himself. So no not a legend in the slightest.

Cantona, Keane, Robson, Scholes...heck I'd put RVP above him, even if he was here 5 minutes.

 

[GreatDane]

He's almost up there with Danish United legend Mads Timm.

 

[ForeverRed1]

Real Madrid legend imo.

 

[King7Eric]

This is a good precise. I thought he was actually quite quite against Chelsea in Moscow but without his goals we wouldn't have won the PL that year. Must admit, don't remember the penalty miss against Barca. For me, "legend" means many things - I don't particularly see Giggs as one but I do Beckham (hard to explain other than Becks was United through and through, we've all seen him in his United shirt as a kid at Spurs). People accuse me of being a Ronaldo fan boy, but in the thread about our top 10 players of all time, I actually forgot him in my first two drafts...

Sorry don't want to derail the thread but by what metric is Giggs not a Utd legend? Whatever he did off field had nothing to do with us and I can't see how he can't be considered a legend.

 

[giggs-beckham]

No he's a cnut

 

[MrEleson]

I think in a few years time when things die down he'll still be viewed as a legend.

Regardless of his character, 2006-09 Ronaldo is the best United player of the last 50 years. Better than the likes of Giggs, Rooney, Scholes and Cantona. Anyone who watched him during that time knows he wasn't just a goalscorer back then, one of the most complete attackers ever.

This.

I started off disliking him for his excessive showboating. But from around February 2006, I think after that home game against Fulham where he scored his first knuckle ball FK, he just became a different beast.

Between 2006-09, he was by far the most exhilarating player I ever saw play for the club.

 

[mitchmouse]

Sorry don't want to derail the thread but by what metric is Giggs not a Utd legend? Whatever he did off field had nothing to do with us and I can't see how he can't be considered a legend.

I said it was hard to explain and it's purely personal. I wasn't taking into account anything off the field, especially given he is facing a retrial and so nothing should be mentioned here (although I fully understand why some people do take this into account).

In a way, it's the same as me having always preferred Denis Law to Charlton and Best. Purely personal from having seen a lot of them. Just because Giggs played so many games for us, doesn't make him a legend to me. I thoroughly accept that he will be at the top of the list for others. I do put Ole as a legend, others don't. Maybe it's to do with early expectations.

I'd add that there are some here who don't see Roy Keane as either a legend or in the top 10 best players ever at United.

 

[mitchmouse]

Look it up. First game at the Camp. We had a penalty in the first 10 and he missed it. After that we defened for our lives.

I wasn't doubting you. I simply didn't remember it

 

[anant]

Whether he is a legend or not will surely depend on how broad your definition of a legend is.

If it's top 5-10 players in terms of contributions, then I dont think he'd be a legend, but if it's a broader definition, then surely he's a legend. I'm not his biggest fan, and I dont regard him as a legend, but I'll completely get it if a significant portion of the fan base remembers him as a legend when all the dust has settled down

 

[mitchmouse]

I think in a few years time when things die down he'll still be viewed as a legend.

Regardless of his character, 2006-09 Ronaldo is the best United player of the last 50 years. Better than the likes of Giggs, Rooney, Scholes and Cantona. Anyone who watched him during that time knows he wasn't just a goalscorer back then, one of the most complete attackers ever.

Prepare for some here to call for you to be hung, drawn and quartered

 

[Desert Eagle]

I said it was hard to explain and it's purely personal. I wasn't taking into account anything off the field, especially given he is facing a retrial and so nothing should be mentioned here (although I fully understand why some people do take this into account).

In a way, it's the same as me having always preferred Denis Law to Charlton and Best. Purely personal from having seen a lot of them. Just because Giggs played so many games for us, doesn't make him a legend to me. I thoroughly accept that he will be at the top of the list for others. I do put Ole as a legend, others don't. Maybe it's to do with early expectations.

I'd add that there are some here who don't see Roy Keane as either a legend or in the top 10 best players ever at United.

You have Ole as a legend but not Giggs? There is no objective metric in which Ole is ahead though. Giggs didn't just play many games for us for fecks sake . The man was a key part of ten plus titles, a treble and transitioned all the way from electric young winger to classy center midfielder. If giggs isn't a legend then the word loses all meaning . Might as well say Sir Bobby isn't a legend.

 

[Stookie]

Not for me. He’s a great player that played for United but that’s it.

 

[Drizzle]

Of course he's a legend, just one with a tarnished reputation now. The lad won everything with us and reached a level few other United players ever have. If you win the Ballon D'or and Champions League with us, you're a legend.

Just because he's a legend, though, doesn't mean I have to like him. I've always thought he was an arrogant tit and I can't wait for him to leave. Then again I never liked Fergie either, but he's the best manager that ever lived. That's how this works.

 

[africanspur]

I get his point. Ronaldo agreed with Blatter‘s slavery comments, spent his prime somewhere else, never even bothered about United after leaving (yes he may have affection for SAF but not for United), and was still seen as one of our legend. So in terms of all those things hardly anything has changed. Yes he gave this horrible interview, but not sure if this is worse or his behaviour in the summer of 2008.

From an outside perspective, this seems infinitely worse.

2008 was unpleasant but not grossly different from what many footballers do to try to get their move. He was a young footballer, approaching/ already on the cusp of greatness, wanted to fulfil his own lifelong ambition of playing for Real and probably to some extent felt that he had achieved all he wanted to at Man Utd. He had also just won all of the major trophies with you again, at the time when many of your fans were concerned about the rise of Chelsea.

This time, he's not trying to earn a move to a 'bigger' club or achieve his lifetime ambition. He just doesn't like his situation. You allowed him to leave but he couldn't find anyone he was happy with to take him. He hasn't won anything and in fact could argue he's dragged the team down. And then unleashes a tirade in the media where he criticises the current manager, the current players, former colleagues and legends and your faciities. And confirms he refused to come on because he is not that kind of player.

I don't see how they're equivalent to be honest.

 

[arthurka]

The day that the slavery accusations started because his dream was always to play for Madrid was the moment he was done for me. Always about him.

 

[zertz]

Had he left after last season would people then still have considered him a bad signing?

 

[King7Eric]

I said it was hard to explain and it's purely personal. I wasn't taking into account anything off the field, especially given he is facing a retrial and so nothing should be mentioned here (although I fully understand why some people do take this into account).

In a way, it's the same as me having always preferred Denis Law to Charlton and Best. Purely personal from having seen a lot of them. Just because Giggs played so many games for us, doesn't make him a legend to me. I thoroughly accept that he will be at the top of the list for others. I do put Ole as a legend, others don't. Maybe it's to do with early expectations.

I'd add that there are some here who don't see Roy Keane as either a legend or in the top 10 best players ever at United.

I can understand preferring one legend over another but can't see how Giggs is not a Utd legend. I have seen over the past few years on here that his legendary status has been attributed to his longevity. People seem to overlook he was an absolutely fantastic player. The things he could while running full pelt with the ball in the 90s and then is his last few years the way he evolved into a more central role and the number of exquisite balls he would play. There is no one I would rather have the ball at his feet in and around the box in the last minutes of a game if we needed a goal than him, because you just knew he would create a chance with his wand of a left foot.

Not having a go at you mate and fair enough if you don't rate him but I struggle to see how he can't be a legend.

 

[TheNewEra]

Had he left after last season would people then still have considered him a bad signing?

He'd have been a Cavani level signing, right now Ighalo would be more useful

 

[gulli_G]

The day that the slavery accusations started because his dream was always to play for Madrid was the moment he was done for me. Always about him.

Same, he gave his best years to Real, comes back and says he cares for the club, disrespects the club by wanting to leave 2 weeks before transfer window ends, can't find a club, United still keep his reputation and says he's important for the team.

Then in preseason is disrespectful to the manager when given instructions, manager still publicly backs him. Leaves early with few others, gets warning, only one to do it again but also refused to come on this time. Gives the interview with Piers Morgan, craps on everyone, where he should have gone all out about the Glazers if he really cared. Not a legend for me.

 

[el3mel]

We have only won the Champions League three times, so I would say that anybody that played a part during those three seasons is automatically a legend.

Then you have individuals like Robson, Cantona, Bruce and Hughes that were instrumental in us regaining our place at the top of the table in English football. They all have legendary status imo.

Ronaldo gets the status for being part of that legendary team back in 2008.

If he had left us without a CL win I wouldn’t have his individual time here as legendary at all.

Does that make Anderson a United legend then ?

 

[Beachryan]

I think he can be the best footballer to play for United in the modern era and also not be a legend. In the same way that someone like Ole is viewed as a legend - it's not just about the talent and on-pitch stuff but also the rapport with the fans.

He's burned his United bonafides for me. Obviously his best season with us is the pinnacle of a footballer in premier league history (I think objectively) and I can appreciate that but also detest the man and the now 3 extended periods he's pissed all over fans' emotions.

 

[Marcus]

No.