So, The Second Greatest Footballer on the Planet™ has recently voiced
his concerns over being ‘sad’ at his ‘professional’ situation at Real Madrid. Obviously, I’m referring to Portuguese super-athlete Christiano Ronaldo;
the winger-cum-forward who has plundered goals at a phenomenal rate
since moving to the Bernabeu in 2009 (101 La Liga goals in only 88
appearances). Now, when scoring a brace against Granada recently in a
3-0 win, he declined to celebrate both goals.
A number of factors could be related to his current plight – maybe
it’s the money (obviously, he’s not struggling but he hasn’t been given a
salary increase despite talks of a contract extension six months ago),
maybe it’s because he’s reportedly not getting the respect he so desires
from his team-mates or maybe he just doesn’t like Jose Mourinho. Anyway, only he himself knows the real reasons.
Should he declare that he does in fact want to depart from Real
Madrid, there will surely be a queue of potential suitors at his door.
He’s an incredible player, of course he’ll attract much attention. Could anyone foresee a shock move back to old club Man United?
I would’ve laughed at this prospect around five months ago as the
27-year old was happily helping Madrid secure last season’s La Liga
title but now, sure enough, the rumour mill has kicked in and there are
whispers abound that Sir Alex Ferguson may be tempted to bring him back to the club that, essentially, made him.
The potential return of Ronaldo would be subject to Ferguson getting
the nod from the Glazer brothers and it would take some kind of very
persuasive deal to lure the player from the clutches of such a massive
club, whom the United manager
once famously stated he ‘wouldn’t sell a virus’ to. I would argue,
though, that whilst having such a tremendous player in and amongst the
ranks at Old Trafford can be no bad thing, at this stage his services
aren’t hugely required.
I state this because this summer United secured a deal for Japanese playmaker Shinji Kagawa from German Champions
Borussia Dortmund. And the little man has wasted no time at all in
making his mark in United’s side. Pushed up field and playing in and
around the strikers (first Rooney and then van Persie), Kagawa has
displayed a number of key attributes in proving his worth to Feguson’s
current side.
In the1-0 defeat at Everton in United’s first game, he was the team’s
stand-out performer despite a below-par performance from the rest of
the players
– his movement in the final third, touch and awareness of his
team-mates were second-to-none and these qualities have been brought
forward since then. With a goalscoring touch to match – netting in the
home win over Fulham and in that game again proving his obvious quality.
The 23-year old has shown that he is a key element of Alex Ferguson’s
attack-minded side and, let’s not forget, with the addition of Robin van Persie (he of already four United goals), this a side which, as it stands, is struggling to accommodate a certain Wayne Rooney.
Would Ronaldo’s potential signing upset the apple cart? Well, no, not
exactly. He’d certainly contribute in the goals department and would
give Ferguson another addition to his already expansive forward
line. However, is his ego too big for the Man United dressing room? I
would say so, yes. This is a player who, whilst being supremely
talented, thoroughly enjoys being in the spotlight. That style wouldn’t
sit well with United’s current set-up – a side that’s built on hard work
and a strong team ethic.
Despite that, this is all hearsay. It’s the rumour mill simply doing
what it does – this article gets written, chances are he’ll be stating
he’s happy again at Madrid in a few days’ time. Such is the nature of
the beast.
For now, let’s enjoy savouring the delights of a potent Dutch marksman and an intelligent Japanese playmaker.
No comments:
Post a Comment