Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure will hurt but now Manchester United can move forward

Ralf Rangnick had been Manchester United manager for two days when he observed to a colleague that he couldn’t play with Cristiano Ronaldo, but he certainly couldn’t play without him – and that is the dilemma any manager of United will have.

There remained at times something vaguely glorious about Ronaldo last season. He was still capable of narrative-shifting late goals. He still looked the same, a little slower perhaps, but his body was evidence of a lifetime’s dedication. Though much had been lost, much abided; it was still at times possible to believe that some noble work could yet be done.

But the problem was those escapades, those glimmers of what he once was, came against Atalanta, Norwich or Tottenham in one of their bad phases. It was enough, perhaps, to persuade those who wanted to believe, but Ronaldo in his second United coming has been a diminished presence. There’s no shame in that: he is 37, way beyond the age at which most forwards have decided the Premier League is no longer for them.

He did score 18 league goals last season, eight more than any of his teammates. At a club that has become increasingly obsessed by nostalgia during a decade-long decline, he is a symbol of a more profitable time (and in his return, perhaps, also a symbol of a less decisive, less successful era). He is a celebrity. As United’s marketing people might say, he raises brand awareness.

And so in that sense the news on Saturday that Ronaldo wants to leave came as blow. It made clear that his return, which cost a £20m fee and £500,000 a week in wages, has been a failure. It’s easy to portray that as another example of United lurching into chaos. But getting rid of Ronaldo is also probably the most important step in rebuilding