Cristiano too old? Ronaldo critics will eat their words
FT Desk
- Updated: 29 Aug 2021 15:19 BST
- 4 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo’s sensational return to Manchester United after 12 years away has certainly more than divided the critics.
The Portuguese superstar completed a €28 million (£24m) transfer to Man Utd from Juventus on Friday – and everyone agrees that this is the most romantic deal of the summer.
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However, while most fans believe that Ronaldo will transform Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team into genuine Premier League title challengers, many journalists and members of the media are not so certain.
Is Ronaldo too old?
"He is 36 years of age, he is nowhere near as good as he was in his first spell in England, maybe 50%" Arsenal legend Paul Merson said on Sky Sports.
"If he does it, this season, in the Premier League, you would have to stand up and say 'he is not human'.
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"I know his figure, his physique, the way he looks after himself. The young players they can look at him and go 'this is how I have to live my life for the next 10 years'.
"Will he win the league for Man Utd? I'd say no. He's going to play centre-forward, and Edinson Cavani will be thinking why he signed another year.
"I still sit here and think - why not go and get Harry Kane? This is for one season - he is 37 in February."
Merson’s concerns about Ronaldo’s age and whether he will be able to cope with the rigours of the most intense league in the world were echoed by former Liverpool star and ESPN pundit Steve Nicol.
“Ronaldo shouldn’t want to come back to the Premier League at 36 because of the pace of the game,” Nicol told ESPN days before Ronaldo’s return.
“He is in a place in Italy where the pace of the game suited him.
“He’s a specimen but at his age you lose pace and you lose balance.
“He knows that. He has so much ability that he can get away with it at Juventus. He should stay away from the Premier League.”
Ronaldo’s incredible record
Welcome 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲, @Cristiano 🔴#MUFC | #Ronaldo
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 27, 2021
The criticism of Ronaldo frankly seems ridiculous. This is a player who has scored over 100 goals in the last three years. Only Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski outscored him last season.
And for those who try and argue that Ronaldo only scored all these goals because he was playing in Italy, let them be reminded that the 36-year-old was top-scorer at Euro 2020 just two months ago.
This was despite the fact that Portugal were eliminated in the last 16 as Ronaldo found the net five times in just four games – despite playing three giants in Germany, France and Belgium.
The @Cristiano effect 📲❤️#MUFC pic.twitter.com/ZmledlgFrf
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 28, 2021
With the youth and legs of the likes of Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Bruno Fernandes – among others – doing his running for him, Ronaldo is a guarantee to score goals this season.
He won’t press and defend too much, but Man Utd don’t play a system that relies on their forwards pushing high up the pitch.
The doubters will never learn when it comes to Ronaldo. He will prove Merson, Nicol and all of them wrong again this season.
