How Manchester United and Erik ten Hag should deal with their Cristiano Ronaldo conundrum

It's safe to say Cristiano Ronaldo's return to Manchester United hasn't gone quite as he expected.

The wild optimism that accompanied Ronaldo's re-signing for the club 12 years on from his departure to Real Madrid has been completely snuffed out by the dreadful season that followed it. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has lifted every trophy possible since his first Old Trafford departure and planned to keep the triumphs flowing back in Manchester.

“I think it’s the best decision that I have made," he told U nited's official site upon signing for the club from Juventus. "It’s right on point in my opinion. I moved from Juve now to Manchester, it’s a new chapter, I’m so happy and glad, and I want to carry on again, to make history, to try to help Manchester achieve great results, to win trophies and number one of them, to win great things.”

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However, United have come nowhere near winning anything in another campaign of chaos that will see their trophy drought reach a fifth year. Also, instead of challenging to win the Champions League, United almost certainly won't even qualify for next year's edition of the competition.

It would take a miracle for United to arrest their dreadful form and claw back the points that Tottenham and Arsenal have on them in the race for fourth place and as a result, just a year after his return, Ronaldo's future is in doubt.

The Portuguese hasn't played in the Europa League since it was called the UEFA Cup and he was a teenager at Sporting. As a man who has become synonymous with Europe's top competition, it's difficult to see him accepting playing on Thursday nights in one of the last years of his career.

Ronaldo still