‘Smart chess move’ – Man City ‘forced’ Man Utd into signing Ronaldo

Pep Guardiola was never going to sign Cristiano Ronaldo and Man City “forced” Manchester United into buying the forward last summer.

This is the view of former City striker Shaun Goater. Ronaldo returned to the Premier League in 2021 as he departed Juventus.

Man City were initially linked with him but he ended up returning to Man Utd before the transfer window closed.

Top ten best Premier League signings of the season

The 36-year-old has grabbed 18 goals and three assists from his 33 appearances for Man Utd this term.

This has been a dreadful season for United overall though. They currently sit seventh in the Premier League table.

The Red Devils also exited the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup prematurely.

Goater “never thought” that Ronaldo’s comeback was “going to be great” for Man Utd:

“I’ve got to be honest, I never thought Cristiano Ronaldo’s return was going to be a great thing for Manchester United,” Goater said (quotes via The Metro).

“I knew he’d score goals, but I also knew that he’d take away from the shine of the future, and the youngsters they have. I didn’t think the rest of the team would score goals as a direct result of him signing; someone was going to suffer.

“That balance had to work, and I don’t think it has. If Ronaldo was told ‘look, use your experience, you’re obviously a key player and you’re going to have plenty of game-time, but a key part of this project is these young players coming through’, then it might have been a different story.

“But, as we can see, Marcus Rashford has gone off the boil, and I think it’s because he’s lost a lot of belief; he’s just sort of been left to figure it out.”

North London rivals overachieving to even be in 4th place race

Rooney suggests British nucleus