Reasons Why Cristiano Ronaldo Will Rejoin Manchester United in 2015
When Cristiano Ronaldo walked out on Manchester United in 2009, it seemed like it would be for good.
The boy from Madeira, leaving the windswept north-west of England to play for the biggest football club in the Latin world, swapping leafy Cheshire for the bright lights of the Spanish capital.
United earned a world-record fee for CR7, and everyone hugged and said their kind goodbyes.
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But five years on and the landscape is once again changing before our very eyes.
Sir Alex Ferguson has gone, Real Madrid have finally achieved their La Decima European Cup, and Cristiano Ronaldo's happiness as the top Galactico is starting to wane.
Ronaldo has watched his good friend Angel Di Maria be unceremoniously pushed out of club and into the arms of his former love from Manchester, with their shared agent Jorge Mendes organising the speed-dating party to create new relationships.
And after leaving Spain, Di Maria was candid in his doubt about Ronaldo's own future, per Jamie Anderson of the Express:
"Cristiano helped me to stay in Real Madrid before. He was on my side but I don’t know how long will he stay in Real Madrid."
Anderson now claims that United will offer Ronaldo an escape route back to England with a £300,000-per-week wage to sweeten the trip for the Portuguese superstar.
The move would be one of the most sensational in Premier League history, but United have proved in recent weeks that their hunger for the big names to arrive at Old Trafford is now vast.
And the transfer of Ronaldo makes sense both on and off the pitch, with the player recently fluttering his eyelids towards his former beau in an interview, talking about his eternal "love" for the Red Devils:
The tone of Ronaldo's language has changed, and despite declaring his happiness at Madrid—as he once did at United before he left—his words cannot quite commit to saying he has no desire to leave.
This is classic Ronaldo—because only God knows what he will do next.
But the stars are very much aligning for him to return to United as Louis van Gaal looks to supercharge the recovery of the club with world-class signings, with Madrid already looking towards a post-CR7 future with Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez.
In football terms, Ronaldo's acquisition by United looks like a no-brainer. He is still very much in the top two players on the planet, but his recent knee injury is a major source of concern.
However, a Manchester United team with Ronaldo, Di Maria and Radamel Falcao would expect to compete for the most prestigious of silverware, and his return would be a statement of further intent by the Glazers.
However, it is not only football that would drive the player back into the loving arms of United.
The commercial opportunities for the club would be astronomical, and the Old Trafford owners are driven by a lust for sponsorship and profit.
United announced this week a 49 percent increase of sponsorship revenue this year, per Adam Shergold of the Mail Online, but imagine how this would further inflate with Ronaldo strutting down the wing in a United shirt—rather than say, an Ashley Young or Antonio Valencia?
United's deal with Adidas will ensure that the club have the raw cash needed to purchase the very best, while the rest of the business soaks up money like a sponge.
Adidas will want value for money from their world-record kit deal with United, and what would constitute this more than the most popular player on the planet with their company logo on his chest?
With Manchester City wearing Nike, Liverpool with Warrior and Arsenal in Puma—the German kit manufacturer will want to flex its muscle in the Premier League with its most costly investment.
In Galactico fashion, it is not the signing of defenders that pays the bills. It is attackers who command the biggest slice of the economic pie.
In computer games adverts, it is not a centre-back whose face is splashed on the cover—it is always the guy who gets the goals.
And Ronaldo scores lots of goals.
It seems that United have cottoned onto this late, but they know that the exposure Ronaldo would give the club would initiate the silly money to come rolling into Old Trafford. Ronaldo's transfer fee would almost be inconsequential.
From Ronaldo's viewpoint: He needs to be loved.
He most certainly could go to Paris Saint-Germain and earn more money, or he could join Manchester City or Chelsea and fight for the biggest trophies—but United ticks all of the boxes that he desires.
The adulation shown towards him by the faithful has never diminished, and he knows that a return to United would produce more drama than a full season of Game of Thrones. Ronaldo loves this type of theatre, and he is not going to get that at any of the other aforementioned teams.
CR7 has achieved his goal of becoming a champion with Real Madrid and suddenly life in leafy Cheshire might appeal to a guy who is about to become a thirtysomething, with family in-tow.
United is the perfect place for him to end his career—both in terms of ambition and money—and his exit will give Florentino Perez a further excuse to find his next superstar.
Mendes has already brought Di Maria and Falcao to Manchester United, earning himself a cool £20 million with his Old Trafford dealings in the past few weeks, per Nick Harris of the Mail On Sunday. Would you bet against him making it a hat-trick in the near future with his biggest client of all?
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