How Manchester United will line up with Cristiano Ronaldo
Stefan Bienkowski
- 27 Aug 2021 17:07 BST
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo has made a dramatic and remarkable return to Manchester United after 12 years away from the club.
On Friday afternoon Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri confirmed that the Portugal international had requested permission to leave the club.
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Then, in a dramatic turn of events, Man Utd pulled in front of their rivals Manchester City to strike a deal with their former star.
The Red Devils would announce his purchase on Twitter.
Welcome 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲, @Cristiano 🔴#MUFC | #Ronaldo
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 27, 2021
Man Utd starting XI with Ronaldo
Fortunately for the Old Trafford club, Ronaldo has developed into a more traditional No.9 in his later years, having scored 29 goals in 33 leagues games lasrt season, and as such should be able to play the role of a normal striker when called upon by Solskjaer.
That will likely mean less game time for Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani, but shouldn’t require a huge change to the club’s current tactics to fit the former Real Madrid star into the starting XI.
As such, Ronaldo should be able to play at the front of Man Utd’s 4-2-3-1 formation, with Marcus Rashford on the left wing and Jadon Sancho on the right, once everyone is back and at full fitness.
Excitingly enough, the Portugal international should enjoy plenty of support from compatriot Bruno Fernandes, who will likely keep his role as No.10 and talisman in Solskjaer’s system.
One notable issue with the introduction of Ronaldo is that it now cements the player in the No.9 position, which in turn means Rashford and/or Anthony Martial will be moved back to the left wing role.
That is where Paul Pogba has tended to play in the first few games of this season.
As such, Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford may lead to Pogba’s return to a central midfield position.
Where he is often tasked with more responsibilities and rarely plays with the same flair and imagination.
