Did Man Utd make a mistake re-signing Ronaldo?

Stefan Bienkowski | Author

Former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragherbelieves Manchester United made a mistake signing Cristiano Ronaldo, despite his impressive goalscoring record for the club.

The Portugal international has already bagged 15 goals and three assists in 28 games for the Old Trafford side this season in all competitions.

However, despite Ronaldo’s best efforts, the Red Devils have been knocked out of the FA Cup and are now struggling to keep a spot in the Premier League top four.

As such, Carragher believes the Portuguese star was not the answer to the club’s failing last season and has proved to be a terrible signing.

'Man Utd made a mistake re-signing Ronaldo'

“Cristiano Ronaldo’s invaluable contribution to Manchester United’s Premier League win over Brighton was another reminder of his unparalleled appetite for goals,” said the Liverpool defender in his column for the Telegraph.

“But it does not change this reality: United made a mistake re-signing Ronaldo last summer. It will be a bigger one keeping him next season.

“I know how contentious that sounds. It is easy to list the many magnificent qualities Ronaldo possesses which make him one of the greatest players we have seen.

“He remains one of the ultimate goalscorers, having evolved to become a penalty box predator, liable to deliver when his team most needs it – as against Villarreal and Atalanta – to prolong United’s Champions League campaign.

“You would not bet against him scoring over 20 goals this season. ’Where would United be without his goals,’ is something you often hear.

“Well, we already have an answer to that. United scored 121 in all competitions in 2020-21, their highest tally for 14 years. That is because they were a more balanced, unified team than now.”

Has Ronaldo made a difference?

Although Man Utd weren’t quite good enough to win the Premier League last season, they did manage to finish second in an extremely well-contested league campaign. And when we compare last season to this one, we can see whether Ronaldo’s arrival has made a big difference.

So far this season, Ralf Rangnick’s side have picked 43 points and scored 40 goals from 25 league games. However, when we compare that to last season’s total it shows how far the club have fallen.

Indeed, after 25 games in the previous campaign, Man Utd had scored 13 more goals and have six more points to show for their troubles. Which certainly suggests that Ronaldo’s arrival - and goals - certainly haven’t helped the Old Trafford club take the next step in the Premier League.