The numbers that show how dreadful Ronaldo’s return to Man Utd has been
Cameron Smith
- 15 Mar 2022 22:45 GMT
- 4 min read
Manchester United's last-16 Champions League exit to Atletico Madrid consigned the club to five consecutive seasons without a trophy, their longest drought since the 1980s.
After a 1-0 second-leg loss, Ralf Rangnick's side fell at the first knockout stage hurdle in Europe, and it wasn't a good day at the office for Cristiano Ronaldo.
The record goal-scorer in Champions League history has made a name for himself for scoring crucial goals in the knockout stages, with 67 in the competition once the group stages are over, but he wasn't able to replicate that against Atleti.
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In fact, Ronaldo was so off the pace that he failed to register a single shot in the game. That's the third time the feat has happened when the superstar has played 90 minutes in the Champions League; the other two came against Panathinaikos in 2003, and Barcelona in 2011.
But, that isn't the only damning statistic to come from the defeat either. The loss confirmed that for the first time in 13 years Ronaldo will end a season without a single trophy. The last time that occurred was the 2004/05 season, when Chelsea triumphed in the Premier League and the League Cup, Arsenal won the FA Cup, and Liverpool were victorious in the Champions League.
The Portugal national team captain has won at least one trophy in every season since then, but with Man Utd out all of the cup competitions, and the Premier League title a distant dream, Ronaldo will go without a trophy this campaign.
The end of his career?
Not only that, but Ronaldo could well have played his last ever Champions League game. With Arsenal in imperious league form, finishing inside the top four is an uphill battle for Man Utd, and hence they won't qualify for next season.
Ronaldo may well leave the club, but if suitors don't appear, or he chooses to stay, then he may have given up on any lingering hopes of more Champions League glory. At 37, Ronaldo doesn't have many more years at the top left, and it seems unlikely he'll get a move to a better club than Man Utd given his age and gradual decline over the past few years.
His recent hat-trick against Tottenham displayed he still has the talent, but it papered over the cracks of a poor few months. His movement and lack of defensive awareness has come at the cost of Man Utd's fluidity, and many fans aren't too pleased.
If he continues at the rate he's going Ronaldo will end the season with less than 20 league goals, which hasn't happened since the final year of his first spell at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo hasn't been able to transform Man Utd, and despite his heroics in the Champions League group stage, it wasn't enough.
Ronaldo's career is coming to an end, and with Man Utd looking even further away from a trophy than they did 12 months ago, he may well have won the last trophy of his career. This may be it - Ronaldo may never win a trophy again.
With only a few more years left, Man Utd don't have the talent to compete with Manchester City or Liverpool, so Ronaldo could be doomed if he wanted to secure one last trophy before retirement.
