Nobody wants Ronaldo, this would never happen to Messi
FT Desk
- 20 Aug 2022 10:17 BST
- 4 min read
It’s been a long and painful summer transfer window for Cristiano Ronaldo, and the odds look like it will shut with him staying at Manchester United.
Although the Portuguese has promised to speak up about his experience in around two weeks, he has spent the summer pushing to leave Old Trafford for a team that is more competitive at the cutting edge of domestic and European football.
On-field results have justified this: Man Utd have lost both of their opening Premier League fixtures, and with Liverpool to come on Monday, the prospect of them having any points on the board come next weekend look slim.
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Casemiro might have arrived, but Erik ten Hag’s squad still looks bereft of the quality of the league’s elite teams.
Indeed, the only thing that has kept Ronaldo at Man Utd is that no one wants him.
Borussia Dortmund were billed as his “last chance” to get out of the club, yet on Friday they issued a polite but firm ‘no thanks’. It has been the theme of Ronaldo’s summer, with big clubs distancing themselves from him one by one.
It is a sad juncture in his career and one that Ronaldo’s great rival, Lionel Messi, would not have to face.
Ronaldo is outdated, Messi is timeless
Ronaldo has been praised for his ability to adapt. He started out as a tricky winger and has evolved into one of the best predatory strikers in the history of the game, yet in doing so, he has become the type of player who is no longer essential in modern football.
Pure No.9s have grown increasingly rare, and while Ronaldo possesses great intricacy and quality in his play around the box, he is the type of player that a whole squad needs to be built around. No one is willing to do this for a player who will turn 38 later this season.
Conversely, Messi remains the type of player capable of carrying any side. Thanks to his creativity and link-up play, his ability to find space deeper on the field, he could be a precious conduit for any club.
Ronaldo fans will doubtless point to CR7 comprehensively outperforming Messi last season, but their man was by far and away the key figure at Manchester United whereas the Argentine adapted to a supporting role to Kylian Mbappe at PSG.
If the Parisians were to offload Messi at this juncture, there would still be a clamour of clubs to sign him. Barcelona, for example, are positioning themselves to take him back next summer.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has simply laughed at the idea Ronaldo might return to the Bernabeu.
Read more about: La Liga, Ligue 1, Premier League, Barcelona, Man Utd, PSG, Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi
