World Soccer Presents - Rise of Ronaldo (2022)

MANCHESTERUNITED

T

hedateis September11, 202 1,

andall eyes inManchester

areononeman.Justover 1 8

yearsafter hisfirst Premier

Leaguedebut,CristianoRonaldohad

returnedtoOldTraffordafterjoining

Manchester Unitedfor thesecondtime.

Ifhehadbeenwritinghisownscript,

perhapshisopeninggoalwouldhave

comeearlierthanthesecondminute

offirst-halfstoppagetime.Hemay also

havechosenamorespectacularfinish

thanatap-ininsidethesix-yardbox.

Still,whenFreddieWoodmanspilled

MasonGreenwood’s shot,nobody

reactedquickerthanRonaldo;even

attheageof 36 , heremainssharper

thananyoneelseinthepenaltyarea.

Seventeenminutesintothesecond

half, goalnumbertwoarrived.Thistime

ithadalittlemorestyle;racingonto

LukeShaw’sneatly-threadedthrough

ball,andlashinghisshotthrough

Woodman’s legs withhisleftfoot.

Thiswas notthesameRonaldo

thatOldTraffordhadfirstwitnessed

allthoseyearsearlier.Olderandwiser,

yes,butalsomorerefined.Therewas

lessshowboatingandfewer stepovers

• infact,thestatssay thathedidn’t
  embarkonasingledribbleover the
  courseofthe 90 minutes.Buthechose
  hismoments,andacteddecisively.
  Whilethenumbersevenstill adorned
  hisback, thisversionofCR7was an
  out-and-outNo.9,leadingtheline
  andfinishingclinicallywhenit counted.
  Asatestamenttohisextraordinary
  longevity, it is worthpointingoutthat
  every otherplayerthatfacedBoltonin
  2003 forRonaldo’s firstdebuthasnow
  retired,includingOleGunnarSolskjaer,
  themanagerthatre-signedhim.From
  thevisitors,onlyfull-backNickyHunt


• themantaskedwithmarkingRonaldo
  thatday–is still playing,for Northern

Homecoming

BOTTOM:Goalone...

RonaldobeatsFreddie

Woodmanto theball

RIGHT:Goaltwo...

Ronaldofirestheball

intotheNewcastlenet

FARRIGHT:Reunion...

RonaldoandSolskjaer

wereteam-mates

86 RISEOFRONALDO

JamieEvansreportsonCR 7 ’sreturntotheTheatreofDreams

Premier LeaguesideAshtonUnited,

inEngland’s seventhtier.

BetweenhistwoPremierLeague

debuts,Ronaldohadscored 669

goalsinEngland,SpainandItaly,

plusmorethan 100 forPortugal.

Thebracetookhimto 1 20 United

goals,leavinghim 19 thonthe

club’s list of all-timetopscorers.

Justastheyhaddoneduringhis

first debutagainst Boltonin 2003 , the

fansgavehimastandingovationand

jubilantlycheeredhiseverytouch.

Yet it couldhavebeenallsodifferent.

Ronaldo’s homecomingmighthave

takenplaceinNovember, notAugust,

andtooafar lesswelcominghome

crowd,withtheforwardwearinga

blueshirtratherthanaredone.

OnAugust26,TheIndependent

reportedthatRonaldoandhisagent,

JorgeMendes,hadagreedpersonal

terms withManchesterCity, having

spokentoPepGuardiola.Adeal

betweenthecluband Juventus

hadbeenreached,andthe

moveseemedimminent.

Thenewssentshockwavesaround

theworldoffootball,andnowhere

moresothaninManchester.Social

mediawas floodedwithimagesof

distraughtUnitedfans, withsome

evendecidingtoburnshirtsbearing

thePortugueseforward’sname.

“Heknowshowwefeelabouthim,”

saidSolskjaerinapressconference.

“Ifhewasevergoingtomovefrom

Juventus,heknowsthatwe’rehere.

“Let’sseewhathappens. Cristiano

isalegendofthisclub,thegreatest

player of alltime, if youaskme.I’ve

playedwithhim,I coachedhim...

let’sseewhathappens.”

Themanager’swrysmilesuggested

heknewmorethanhewas lettingon.

Thefollowingday,itwasrevealed

thatUnitedhadagreedafeewith

Juventus, whileCityhadpulledoutof

therace.ESPNrevealedthatRonaldo

hadbeenbombardedwithtexts and

WhatsAppmessagesfromformer

team-mates,towarnhimofthe

damagethatwouldbedoneto

hisOldTraffordlegacyif hewere

tojointheir“noisyneighbours”.