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Why Cristiano Ronaldo is not needed at Manchester United:

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So, The Second Greatest Footballer on the Planet™ has recently voiced his concerns over being ‘sad’ at his ‘professional’ situation at Real Madrid. Obviously, I’m referring to Portuguese super-athlete Cristiano Ronaldo; the winger-cum-forward who has plundered goals at a phenomenal rate since moving to the Bernabeu in 2009 (101 La Liga goals in only 88 appearances). Now, when scoring a brace against Granada recently in a 3-0 win, he declined to celebrate both goals.

A number of factors could be related to his current plight – maybe it’s the money (obviously, he’s not struggling but he hasn’t been given a salary increase despite talks of a contract extension six months ago), maybe it’s because he’s reportedly not getting the respect he so desires from his team-mates or maybe he just doesn’t like Jose Mourinho. Anyway, only he himself knows the real reasons.

Should he declare that he does in fact want to depart from Real Madrid, there will surely be a queue of potential suitors at his door. He’s an incredible player, of course he’ll attract much attention. Could anyone foresee a shock move back to old club Man United? I would’ve laughed at this prospect around five months ago as the 27-year old was happily helping Madrid secure last season’s La Liga title but now, sure enough, the rumour mill has kicked in and there are whispers abound that Sir Alex Ferguson may be tempted to bring him back to the club that, essentially, made him.

The potential return of Ronaldo would be subject to Ferguson getting the nod from the Glazer brothers and it would take some kind of very persuasive deal to lure the player from the clutches of such a massive club, whom the United manager once famously stated he ‘wouldn’t sell a virus’ to. I would argue, though, that whilst having such a tremendous player in and amongst the ranks at Old Trafford can be no bad thing, at this stage his services aren’t hugely required.

I state this because this summer United secured a deal for Japanese playmaker Shinji Kagawa from German champions Borussia Dortmund. And the little man has wasted no time at all in making his mark in United’s side. Pushed up field and playing in and around the strikers (first Rooney and then van Persie), Kagawa has displayed a number of key attributes in proving his worth to Feguson’s current side.

In the1-0 defeat at Everton in United’s first game, he was the team’s stand-out performer despite a below-par performance from the rest of the players – his movement in the final third, touch and awareness of his team-mates were second-to-none and these qualities have been brought forward since then. With a goalscoring touch to match – netting in the home win over Fulham and in that game again proving his obvious quality. The 23-year old has shown that he is a key element of Alex Ferguson’s attack-minded side and, let’s not forget, with the addition of Robin van Persie (he of already four United goals), this a side which, as it stands, is struggling to accommodate a certain Wayne Rooney.

Would Ronaldo’s potential signing upset the apple cart? Well, no, not exactly. He’d certainly contribute in the goals department and would give Ferguson another addition to his already expansive forward line. However, is his ego too big for the Man United dressing room? I would say so, yes. This is a player who, whilst being supremely talented, thoroughly enjoys being in the spotlight. That style wouldn’t sit well with United’s current set-up – a side that’s built on hard work and a strong team ethic.

Despite that, this is all hearsay. It’s the rumour mill simply doing what it does – this article gets written, chances are he’ll be stating he’s happy again at Madrid in a few days’ time. Such is the nature of the beast.

For now, let’s enjoy savouring the delights of a potent Dutch marksman and an intelligent Japanese playmaker.

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