The Ronaldo Saga….Should He Stay or Should he Go?

Everyone seems to be offering their two cents on the Cristiano Ronaldo saga, even Sepp Blatter with his ’slavery of the players’ rant a few weeks ago. so i thought I’d have my say, despite the fact that no one will probably see this. Should he stay or should he go?

Let me start off by saying that the guy command total respect from me and Im sure everyone else in terms of ability with the ball at his feet. But respect for his chracter leaves something to be desires, something that hasn’t been helped by his reactions to Real Madrid’s overtures.

Firstly, as a Manchester United fan myself, I’d hate to see Ronaldo go because he is a class act, there is no-one like him in the world and any team who has them on their books has that extra factor on that right hand side of the pitch. I think he should stay because ever since the World Cup, he’s ‘come of age’ or so to speak and has been an absolute revelation down the flanks of Old Trafford and won over the fans of Old Trafford showcasing all there is to love about ‘the beautiful game’, even after the furore of “Wink-gate” in the Portugal v England Quarter Final.

The other week I was watching a segment on ‘The World Game’ (a football show for those of you who don’t know what I’m going on about) where they were discussing the Ronaldo saga in relation to Blatter’s comment that ’there is too much modern slavery with the ownership of players’. Francis Awaratife made a great point in stating that, with such measures in place to protect the players such as Article 28 (where players can buy out their contracts) as well as the Webster ruling, the sanctity of the contracts that the players sign need to be respected. I agree with this statement wholeheartedly. If players refuse to respect their contracts, it only serves for idiots like Blatter to introduce more measures like Article 28 and the Webster ruling ’to protect the players’ which creates a scenario where players could leave a club a year after just signing a new deal.

Although this next point focuses on Madrid, it highlights the need for United to keep Ronaldo. Calderon’s relentless pursuit of Ronaldo has done nothing but unsettle the player and create further tension in the dressing room, tension that he’d surely take to the Merenegues dressing room if the transfer goes through. Also, the pursuit of Ronaldo by Calderon and the Madrid hierarchy is a throwback to the Galácticos and Zidanes y Pavones era of Florentino Pérez where the club would buy ready made stars along with their ready made ego’s, attempting to offset the ego’s with promoted product from within, something that bought short-term success at the expense of longer-term stability. This is something that Calderon has attempted to address and so far has had success in doing so. He must stick to this formula if Real Madrid is to remain a brightly shining star in the European Club game. 

Keeping Ronaldo on the books at United also benefits the club in that it provides the club with marketing opportunities which will only grow as his name grows around the world, going some of the way in eliminating the debt placed upon the club when the Glazer’s took over in 2005. Ronaldo also offers a focal point around which Sir Alex Ferguson can lay the future groundwork for a team built with talented youngsters and poised for success.

On the other hand, why should he go and why should the club let him? If the reports from the various media outlets are true and it really is Ronaldo’s dream to play for los Merengues, then there isn’t a lot United can do, as so soberigly pointed out by Ramon Calderon.

Real Madrid’s chase of Ronaldo has only served to heighten the tension in the United dressing room, making a clash between player and manager inevitable, something that echoes the situation regarding David Beckham in 2003. Since I remember, United has been built on the basis of trust and a tight ‘family’ unit. Having Ronaldo unsettled disrupts this harmony and team performances would likely suffer.

Also, selling Ronaldo would appeal to the Glazers due to the fact that the astronmical figures being mooted by the media (anywhere from 75 to 100 million euros is what I’ve heard) would go a lot of the way in eliminating the restrictive debt placed upon the club upon the Glazer takeover. This would result in some extra money being freed up for replacements thus ensuring the club’s long term future.

Another critical factor in this is the rather ill-timed departure of Carlos Quieroz. The departure of the Portuguese tactician will hit the club hard in that he was the one that handled with the players personally, establishing close relationships with most players, most notably the Portuguese speaking contingent, whom many see as a father figure at the club. With Quieroz gone, players like Ronaldo may lose the zeal of playing for Manchester United and as a result may not play with all the heart and fervor we’ve seen over the past two seasons.

Also, with the rise of Ronaldo, United have become a tad predictable in going forward, Ronaldo’s haul of 70 goals over the past two seasons is a testament to this. This predictability was perfectly exemplified with the first Manchester Derby of the 07/08 season when Manchester City marked Ronaldo out of the game and consequently took the game 2-0. United either need to look at a wider variety of tactics going forward or find a replacement for Ronaldo (if he goes) that offers a wider game.

My final point I’m going to make on this issue is that the hallmark of every great club is their ability to adapt to critical losses whether it be losing a key player or losing a competition on the final day. United have lost critical personnel in the past, most notably Eric Cantona and more recently David Beckham. Both of these players, at the time of their departure, were crucial cog in the United juggernaut but their losses werent too heavily felt as they adapted in both cases buy buying wisely. Something which, in the case of a possible Ronaldo transfer, could revitalise the club, offer it greater options and ensure success for the future.

So there we go, there are the reasons that Ronaldo should stay and go. I would personally like to see him stay, but I am reserving judgement until the 2008/2009 season begins. There we can see whether his heart is in the team as in previous seasons. If it isn’t, well it all depends on what happens over the coming tweleve months.