Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United this summer has sparked so much excitement among fans – and he’s already scored some important goals – but is the team really better off without him?
In one of the Premier League’s most high-profile signings, the prodigal son, now 36, returned from Juventus this summer – just days after it looked like he would join rivals Manchester City .
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But after scoring four goals in his first three games, he’s only scored two in his next six – despite both being late Champions League winners – against Villarreal and Atalanta .
United have changed the way they play to accommodate the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under extreme pressure as his side look further than ever from the top flight after a 5-0 home loss to Liverpool .
Ex-teammate Leonardo Bonucci believes Juventus were a better team without him and ex-Liverpool and Scotland captain Graeme Souness doesn’t think he should be an automatic starter at United.
So is Ronaldo helping or hindering United?
What did he do well?
Ronaldo’s three goals in six Premier League games are a perfectly decent comeback – two in his first game against Newcastle and one against West Ham in his second – but, by his high standards, it’s not exceptional.
The last time he finished a league season with a success rate of 50% or less was in 2006-07, his fourth season with United, when he scored 17 goals in 34 games.
This makes him the third top scorer in the Premier League, where Didier Drogba won the Golden Boot with 20.
It’s only a start, but 14 players have scored more Premier League goals than he has this season, including Wolves’ Hwang Hee-chan and Watford’s Ismaila Sarr.
Instead, his main exploits have come in the Champions League – a tournament where he is the all-time leading scorer with 137 goals.
Their last two winners make the difference between United at the top of the group with six points and at the bottom, three points behind the first two.
His six total goals brought his total for Manchester United to 124 while he has 450 goals for Real Madrid, a world record 115 for Portugal, 101 for Juventus and five for Sporting Lisbon.
He plays number nine these days, as he has for many years now – a far cry from the delicate winger that England fans first witnessed when he arrived from Sporting.
For hits in the Premier League, he ranks 216th with 243 but for hits in the opponent’s area, he is 16th with 39.
Ronaldo has the eighth-highest number of shots in the Premier League this season (25), with United team-mates Mason Greenwood and Bruno Fernandes above him. He is joined ninth for shots on target (nine).
“He will score goals and get the crowd excited, but I don’t think he can play every game,” Sky Sports expert Souness said.
“I would take it well, but the conversation has to be ‘you won’t start every game but you will have a big influence over nine months’. “
What about its overall impact?
Well, it’s not the best. His pressing stats, in particular, are striking even though it has never been his game.
In the entire Premier League, only one outfield – excluding those who have played under 15 minutes – has fewer successful presses than Ronaldo’s 0.74 per 90 minutes this season and he is the defender of the season. ‘Everton Mason Holgate.
According to Statsbomb data on FBREF, Ronaldo ranks 384th for 90-minute presses and 385th for successful presses. Some 429 players, including goalkeepers, have played in the Premier League this season.
By comparison, Edinson Cavani – who played 26 times in the Premier League for United last season as a forward – averaged 3.86 successful presses every 90 minutes.
ESPN writer Mark Ogden told BBC Radio 5 Live: “What has changed this season is Ronaldo. They have a guy up front who doesn’t do a lot of work.
“Cavani manages everything. He manages the lost causes, he gets the crowd and his teammates moving. If Ronaldo isn’t there, United are more of a team unit. “
BBC Sport expert Micah Richards said: “If you bring in Ronaldo, what’s the style of play? Where is the balance? Of course you will have Ronaldo [if he’s available]. Put people behind him who will do his job. “
Ronaldo has only won possession three times in opposition, third in the Premier League this season – and has played 48 assists in his own half.
In general passing as well, he is far down the list – 208th with 169 (143 wins) with 195 players having completed more than his two dribbles.
