26 Jul 2022 11:09:25
Ronaldo back in Manchester today and meeting with people at the club. I would assume he'll announce he's happy with everything at the club and can't wait to start the new season.
Question is, does he start the first game against Brighton? Does he deserve to? Do you think Ten Hag has it in his pocket to bench him?
26 Jul 2022 11:24:00
Play Martial I would, in form and deserves the start.
26 Jul 2022 11:25:58
I believe he will officially ask to leave.
Ronaldo came to Carrington along with Jorge Mendes today.
26 Jul 2022 11:27:39
The club should tell him that he's surplus to requirements and should get himself a new club or accept a bit part role and go out and sign a younger forward who actually wants to play for Utd. People keep going on about Maguire, Lingard, Pogba etc. And yet none of them have disrespected the club in the manner that Ronaldo has. The club need to take a stance for once and set an example that no one, even the greatest player to ever play the game is bigger than the club.
26 Jul 2022 11:36:04
Depends on his fitness/ match sharpness. I'd be tempted to start Martial against Brighton as he has been working with the squad all pre-season. Have Ronaldo on the bench.
26 Jul 2022 11:53:13
Bit arrogant to skip the entire preseason and expect to gazump Martial / Rashford and start next week if you ask me as both deserve to start otherwise what message does that send out.
26 Jul 2022 11:58:57
Shappy, it's not about match fitness and sharpness . It's about a guy who did'nt go on the pre season tour, whose agent has been hawking him around Europe and who'll only stick around in the end because nobody else wants him or can afford to pay his wages, and then will expect to come back with not an ounce of humility and walk straight into the first team .
26 Jul 2022 12:25:36
Ferguson showed up at the training ground this morning as well probably begging Ronaldo to stay at the club.
26 Jul 2022 12:55:19
Not sure any player who was here to stay at the club would have come with his agent. He is clearly here to tell the club he is leaving.
26 Jul 2022 12:56:15
Hope Fergie took his boots. Need a new striker too.
26 Jul 2022 13:02:16
Circus time. Move him on it’s clear he wants out. We’ve got to get away from this type of nonsense moving forwards. Tedious.
26 Jul 2022 13:07:20
Bilko, I think it's best to take the reason of "family emergency" at face value and give Ronaldo the benefit of the doubt that he missed the pre-season tour for the right reasons.
Today is the first day he could train with the squad and he turned up to train. He is professional.
If he is to stay this season and he is fit enough to play then he should probably be on the bench against Brighton.
However if he is going to leave or isn't fit enough then he shouldn't be with the match day squad against Brighton.
26 Jul 2022 13:15:12
I'd have no problem taking his reason at face value if Mendes had'nt spent that whole time trying to get him a move .
I wonder when does the club get to move on from the whole Fergie - Ronaldo love affair?
26 Jul 2022 13:15:36
Bit of an egg on face moment for EtH if Ronaldo leaves, having been saying numerous times in the past few weeks that he's not for sale. Hope he stamps his foot down on this one.
26 Jul 2022 13:20:46
Tell him and his agent to get out of our club, can’t even believe any supporter would entertain the idea of him playing next week
I don’t particularly rate martial but hats off he’s come back worked hard and should be in no doubt that he is our current centre forward!
Get the circus out!
26 Jul 2022 13:26:33
Martial is great till some morale crushing ( which he might feel) things happen, like removing him from his No9 for Cavani, or filling in at odd game on RW or mostly benched. If he stays motivated, he is good to watch.
26 Jul 2022 13:26:35
He needs moving on big time. Absolutely incredible individual player, but will make us worse overall. Puts our plans back a year if he stays and plays imo.
26 Jul 2022 13:31:39
ETH only saying what he would be expected to say.
I imagine he would'nt think it was the worst thing ever if Ronaldo was to move on.
26 Jul 2022 13:35:01
He hasn't been professional.
He didn't turned up because he wants to leave United.
He didn't turn up because his agent has been to busy whoring him out to just about every Champions League club in Europe.
It's caused a massive disruption to the preparation of team / squad for next season and caused Ten Hag problems that he doesn't need.
I wonder what he will come out and say if nobody want's him and he's stuck with United for the season?
26 Jul 2022 13:43:11
not really egg on the face for ten hag.
what do you expect him to say. if he speaks to him today and he still wants to leave then let him leave
its really not that big of a deal.
players come and go.
26 Jul 2022 13:47:11
Could be a defining point for ETH and the decision he makes with Ronaldo. Personally, if he stays I think ETH has to stick with Martial/ Rashford ahead of Ronaldo to begin with. What message would it send if Ronaldo waltz's straight back in to the starting 11 after the work the others have put in during preseason.
Regardless of the reasons for Ronaldo's absence from preseason he still needs to be treated like all the others. If ETH banned a player from playing on tour due to being late twice to meetings he needs to maintain these standards across all decision making otherwise he risks losing the dressing room before the season starts.
As for Ronaldo wanting to leave and rumours that it is expected he'll tell ETH he wants to leave, then so be it. Only issue for him and Mendes is he doesn't seem to have a lot of potential suitors lining up for him. My guess is the rumours of Atletico is the same tactics they used to get United to bid for him ahead of City.
26 Jul 2022 13:51:32
I imagine there are plenty of clubs who'd love to have him, but there's a certain problem in the form of a 500k wedge of cash to stump up every week.
26 Jul 2022 13:55:39
2008 - Ronaldo wants out, complains about being treated like a slave etc. , Fergie begs him to stay for one more season then he can go to Madrid.
2022 - Ronaldo misses pre season tour while his agent tries to get him out of the club, then flies in for meeting with club hierarchy with probably Fergie begging him to stay again.
Does anything sum up how dysfunctional the club is quite like this groundhog day moment?
26 Jul 2022 14:42:53
Shappy, if he is there to train, and only train for the new season, then why bring your agent?
Ronaldo wants to leave, has missed pre season, let him go and if he is still there come Brighton then start Martial.
He is professional? In what way has he conducted himself in recent weeks points you to him being professional, nothing professional about it Shappy and I think he is a great player. But he wants out and is doing it in the most self serving way.
26 Jul 2022 14:54:25
Not sure 2008 situation and 2022 are comparable to be honest.
{Ed014's Note - should never have bought him in the first place
26 Jul 2022 15:36:36
We have 12 months left on a deal with the greatest goal scorer of all time
Let’s do the sensible thing and utilise him wherever eth thinks he can add value
Who cares if he is sulking about not improving his champs league record, as soon as august 31st is over he will be 100% committed to the cause.
26 Jul 2022 15:58:35
The sensible thing would have been not to bring him back in the first place .
What's to say he won't throw his toys out of the pram again once the January transfer window comes around or if god forbid he's asked to slum it on a Europa League night .
26 Jul 2022 19:05:40
Bilko
He scored almost 1/ 3 of all our prem goals last season. He and de gea were the only ones who turned up.
Those players around him were crap before he joined and crap whilst he’s been there.
There’s nothing in ronaldos past career that suggests he would not perform to best of his abilities whenever he is called on to do so.
Whilst we all want to be in the champs league, we don’t deserve to be this year, therefore we should be selling the Europa league to him as a way of grabbing another few records (mosts goals in a Europa season, also it contributes to his total overall European goals)
26 Jul 2022 22:00:34
I really don't get this Ronaldo hype, from the stats I read after leaving Madrid, all the teams he's been to have scored less than the season he joined, reason because it's always about him. I was never happy we signed him last season, it's best we allow him go, the team will strive better with his absence.
27 Jul 2022 06:39:48
Shappy come on, family reasons? His agent has been whoring all over Europe! Just end this nonsense now and cut our ties!
27 Jul 2022 11:59:52
Chris, last season he had a child die, while the health of that child's twin has not be great.
Given those circumstances I'd be prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt that it was for "family reasons".
I certainly wouldn't want to be calling him a lair when the health of one of his children could have been an issue.
What his agent does is not related to him training or going on pre-season in my opinion.
He went on the Pre-season tour with Juventus last summer before leaving to join United. Even though his agent had spent time BEFORE the tour looking to find him another club.
So he hasn't got previous for ducking out of his responsibilities because he wants a move.
Ronaldo wanted out months ago, his agent held a meeting with the club the day after the season ended to say that Ronaldo wanted to find a new club. We were told by the Ed's on here that he wanted to leave around the same time.
It hasn't come out of nowhere, it's been well understood that he wants to leave. As such why is it suprising that his agent has been speaking to other clubs to see if he can find a new club for Ronaldo? That is his job after all.
I think too many fans are unable to put emotion aside and come out with nasty baseless comments when a player looks to leave our club.
Ronaldo has been a great player for us, he helped us win titles and cups. He won his first Balon d'Or here with us.
He'll always be remembered fondly for that period in a United shirt.
But he isn't that player anymore and he probably doesn't suit the new manager. He isn't a long term solution and the club probably needs to cut ties to move in a positive new direction. Wish him well and move on.