Premier League - Why United will miss Ronaldo

Eurosport - Fri, 10 Jul 12:21:00 2009

When Cristiano Ronaldo joins Real Madrid, just how much will Manchester United miss the Portuguese forward's services?

2009 Manchester United Cristiano Ronaldo Wayne Rooney - 0

Put simply, a great deal. Love him or loathe him, Ronaldo is irreplaceable.

Eighty million pounds is certainly a sizeable sum to play with - assuming it all goes in the transfer kitty - but the plain fact of the matter is that no amount of money can buy a player who can offer what Ronaldo does.

Goals aside, Ronaldo's great strength is his versatility. Alex Ferguson knows he can play him anywhere across the front three and still reap the rewards. Right wing, left wing, through the middle; it doesn't matter. Ronaldo is equally effective wherever he plays.

Few others can offer that kind of service. United are blessed in that Wayne Rooney is one of this rare breed, but it is difficult to think of another player in the Premier League, or indeed anywhere on the continent, who is capable of doing the same.

Such is Ronaldo's adaptability, the problem United now face is working out whether to bring in a forward like Karim Benzma or a winger such as Franck Ribery to fill the gap left by his probable departure.

With such a large sum in the bank, it is most likely Ferguson will opt to bring in a player in each position. And that says it all really - one Ronaldo is worth two other players.

Few would disagree that the character Ronaldo assumes both on the pitch and off it leaves something to be desired - scowls and tight shorts will never endear him to the general public - but footballers are not contracted to be nice people or have good fashion sense.

Sure, if a player does manage to charm his critics, so much the better, but as long as he performs on the pitch and manages to stay out of trouble off it, there should be no issue.

More often than not, Ronaldo succeeds in doing that. United fans are not expected to go for a drink with him, they should merely want him to do what he does best - score goals and win trophies for the club.

His record speaks volumes: since arriving in Manchester in 2003, he has won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups, the World Club Cup and a Champions League for good measure, scoring a total of 117 goals along the way. His impact has been enormous and there is no doubt he has played a huge part in United's success over the past six years.

The mantra that no one player is bigger than United remains true, and United have certainly recovered from the departure of important players in the recent past - think Roy Keane, David Beckham and Ruud van Nistelrooy - but will United be a better team without Ronaldo?

The answer is no, regardless of who is brought in. Even Lionel Messi or Kaka, neither of whom will be arriving at Old Trafford, offer what Ronaldo does.

Ribery and Antonio Valencia have been mooted as more likely replacements but who can honestly say either one is on the same level as Ronaldo?

At least United will now be able to put the whole drawn-out saga behind them and move on from it without any baggage - for that they will be thankful - but nevertheless Ronaldo's presence on the pitch will be sorely missed.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport

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  1. okay so ronaldo has gone but so did­ cantona,beckham,cole,yorke and van nistelrooy before­ him and united still triumphed over­ adversity.........fergie always has an ace up his­ sleeve and i,m sure he,ll sign someone in the ronaldo­ mould very soon.

    From MICHAEL, on Sat 11 Jul 10:51AM

  2. He's a fantastic player - but you have to remember­ that even without him for part of the season, united­ pulled of the championship! A team is not made of just­ 11 players plus the subs bench, but the manager too. I­ wonder what the transfer fee would be on the knightly­ sir alex! Don't count out united before the season­ has even begun. The ego factor at the bernabeu is going­ to be horrendeous!

    From atailor, on Sat 11 Jul 3:06AM

  3. just wanna add a comment, ronaldo is a good player i­ admit that but i doubt that man utd will miss him­ regarding all his talent , but i think if u take back­ rooney and put the new talent specially i was watching­ some training of man utd i can see macheda , valencia ­ can fullfill the front position, and man utd will not­ miss that much ronaldo as people are talkin, and i can­ assure another epl title for man utd

    From Raphy H, on Fri 10 Jul 9:32PM

  4. The whole Liverpool ideology is based on an extremely­ bad 60's pop song!!

    I find that very amusing Ho­ Bl'oody Ho Sigh!!

    From Pete H, on Fri 10 Jul 9:11PM

  5. Nevertheless, Ronaldo is a great player, but i­ don't really think that after his departure would­ make any much diff' to the team. The team we­ supported for so long is not just build up in a­ Sec', remember, winning a game does not really rely­ on just a person, but all the '11' of them and­ it is all about the team work. If he is so­ unreplaceable then i think that Fergie would not really­ let him go. For example Just look at Hull City Team,­ They don't have any famous and exp Player but yet­ they still survive. Same for Stoke city too.

    From Albert, on Fri 10 Jul 9:06PM
  6. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    fickle m.u supporters now saying he,s @#$%. he was god­ when he was at the theatre of yawns!

    From sandgrounder, on Fri 10 Jul 7:14PM
  7. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    fickle m.u supporters now saying he,s @#$%. he was god­ when he was at the theatre of yawns!

    From sandgrounder, on Fri 10 Jul 7:11PM

  8. Why are people overrating Cristiano Ronaldo? Surely he­ was a remarkable player. But all this seems like a­ deja-vu to me. Weren't the critics and the presses­ all over the soccer world saying the exact thing about­ Beckham's and Nistelrooy's departure? I bet­ they said the same thing when Best and Bobby left­ too.

    C.Ronaldo is replaceable. A team is successful by­ having one excellent player. A team is successful by­ having many other strong players. C. Ronaldo wasn't­ going to be a top performer anymore. He was constantly­ marked and brought down. Moreover, Portugal is doing­ pretty poorly this season and his value is going to­ dive right back down.

    United are a team build on a­ group of talents, and not on a sole player. They­ managed without the stunning free-kicks of Beckham, or­ the scoring machine of Nistelrooij, they can definitely­ manage without C. R. So stop whining...

    From Footballer, on Fri 10 Jul 6:40PM

  9. i was really sad because ronaldo was my biggest fan. he­ was a great player to watch. its a shame that he left­ manchester to go and play for real madrid. i hope he­ does a great job for them. i also loved all the goals­ he scored for man united. now people wil miss his­ diving and crying, it was really funny.

    ­ BYE RONALDO FOREVER­ BYE.

    From ATISH, on Fri 10 Jul 3:08PM

  10. Its funny how no one will miss him yet he is the one­ that helped United win as much as it has you have to­ give him at least a Thank you Man u is not a one man­ team but that one man did help United to its potential­ and like they said no one can do what Ronaldo does he­ is born to be great not many are born great but­ learn.....RONALDO WILL BE MISS

    From , on Fri 10 Jul 2:49PM

  11. United will be better next season they will be more of­ a TEAM.....Rons gone off selling shirts in Spain....His­ name will not be sung on the terraces a la CANTONA or­ KEANE ......the world turns.....

    From MARK, on Fri 10 Jul 2:38PM
  12. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Let's go back through time...

    When Cantona left­ from Man U squad, I missed him..
    When Becks left from­ Man U squad, I missed him..
    so is Veron.. Van­ Nistelrooy.. Tevez..

    But Ronaldo.. gimme a HELL NO!!!­ I won't miss him because Man U will be lot better­ without him.. he always dive and in fact, everyone said­ that Becks is unreplacable and look here comes­ Ronaldo.. now, no one can replace Ronaldo? I don't­ have time for such a nonsense..

    From Angelos, on Fri 10 Jul 2:29PM
  13. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    for god sake from the picture above i cant imagine who­ will rooney hug next.. obertan? nani? Berba? all look­ like not so friendly.. hope he wont be lonely tought..­ haha..

    From ramken, on Fri 10 Jul 2:28PM

  14. i think ronaldo is not replacable he is the best in the­ world i am going to hate watching match of the day­ because there will be no more spectacular goals to see­ and i always loved teasing my brother every time he­ scored my brother was jealous of him scoribng goals for­ united but he is no happy because of his­ depature

    farewell ronaldo you will not be missed

    From faisal, on Fri 10 Jul 2:24PM

  15. All the best players in the market seem to not want to­ join the mancs...its all levelling the field so should­ be another great season ahead...

    From leemason123, on Fri 10 Jul 2:18PM

  16. he is over rated, messi is better, so is plenty other­ players

    From shaungallaghercfc, on Fri 10 Jul 1:58PM

  17. he is gone he is history move on as manu have done­ before ,,,,,i dont care what he does at real ,,,,its­ not our problem manu our bigger than he was as like­ beckham also,,,and we still win titles ,,,,as we will­ this coming season ,, manu our a team not a one player­ team ie liverpool gerrard and thats it cos if he left­ liverpool they would not recover as they have no big­ game players who can change a game ,,,i will say­ gerrard is class ,,,manu future champions again for­ next season

    From Chris, on Fri 10 Jul 1:46PM

  18. this article is sooo old....

    From Bali Tenno, on Fri 10 Jul 1:38PM

  19. Phil K: Agreed, fickle fockers them scousers. I will­ miss Ronaldo for the flair he displayed 2 seasons ago,­ but his attitude and selfishness? Good basterin­ riddance mate!!!

    From Colonel K, on Fri 10 Jul 1:14PM

  20. PHIL K, I agree with you mate.... In the last 4 years,­ we used to read, argue and reply to pple talking about­ the diving baby and how he is not up to the big­ matches. Many journalists and comentators talked about­ the same issue, but suddenly, all those swallowed their­ tangs now and started talking about how MAN UTD are­ going to miss Roony.

    Yes, we are going to miss him.­ Yes, he is a great player and by far better than Messi­ and Kaka, But... No, we never before or in the future­ be a one-player team. The coming season will prove­ that... Glory Glory MAN UTD

    From maithem a, on Fri 10 Jul 1:00PM
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