Cristiano Ronaldo’s future has been the most interesting topic in the soccer community this summer. The Portuguese superstar stated that he wanted to leave Manchester United, which was shocking at the time. He left Juventus last year to return to Manchester, but eventually, his plans to win titles at Trafford failed, so he decided to move on from the Red Devils.
Ronaldo is in a hurry because he doesn’t have too much time left on his clock. With 37 years, he is still providing unreal performances and stats, but at some point, that productivity will drop. According to Qatar 2022 odds, Portugal has solid chances of going all the way, but Ronaldo wants at least one more attack at the Champions League before he retires.
The Past
When looking at Cristiano’s previous season, we can see that his stats did drop a bit compared to the previous years but there are solid reasons for that.
He played fewer games, 38, but not due to his fault. It was mostly because he didn’t arrive in Manchester straight away, yet after the start of the season in England. Also, United was pretty much terrible throughout the year, not posting significant results in any of the Cup events. Therefore, Ronaldo ended the campaign with 24 goals, which is the fewest over the last 15 years and the 2007 season in Manchester.
Given all the problems and issues United had, the switch at the managerial position, and the chemistry inside the locker room, we can’t think of any player that would have better productivity in such circumstances immediately after arriving.
So all those talks about him slowly declining don’t have firm ground, and are easy to be ruled out. This leads us to the next question, where will Ronaldo continue his career?
There are several options regarding this matter. One of them is going back to Real Madrid, who didn’t manage to land a big striker name, with Haaland leaving to Manchester City and Mbappe staying in Paris. Chairman Florentino Perez recently spoke about that, accusing these two teams of having illegal influence over the player.
Ronaldo’s return to Santiago Bernabeu would be the least painful outcome for both sides. Ronaldo knows the system and most of the players, mainly the important ones like Modric or Benzema. After all, these guys were a part of one of the best generations in the history of football.
He wouldn’t have any problems settling in the area, and most of all, the fans there adore the Portuguese, who was maybe the best player in the history of this famous club.
Bayern Munich, Juventus, and Manchester City were also in the mix. The Bavarians quickly denied any interest in having Ronaldo, even though they lack one propper striker. Return to the Old Lady was apparently a fluke right from the beginning, and the theory of landing on the other side of Manchester and helping Guardiola to win the UEFA Champions League didn’t last too long in the media. Even though it sounds logical because both Pep and Ronaldo are desperate for the UCL silverware.
MLS was in the Cards?
Going to MLS emerged as a possibility if Ronaldo didn’t manage to find a suitable destination. Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed an increase in the trend of big names landing in the US. The latest superstars in the MLS are Giorgio Chiellini, Lorenzo Insigne, and Ronaldo’s teammate from Real, Gareth Bale.
Some suggest that Ronaldo might return to Sporting Lisbon, his youth club, and help them win a trophy or two before ending his career where he started. That would be maybe the most iconic and epic finish for the player who is one of the best ever.
Also, as an option in the entire saga, we have Ronaldo’s stay at Trafford. The chances for that are the lowest of all the above-mentioned, yet in today’s soccer, sensations are possible, and we can’t rule them out.
