Cristiano Ronaldo at the Theatre of Dreams – Cristiano Ronaldo made his second debut for Manchester United on Saturday against Newcastle, and capped it with two goals as the Red Devils sailed to a 4-1 win.
Move over, Lionel. You’ve had the limelight for long enough this summer. Among his many extraordinary qualities, Cristiano Ronaldo really is the ultimate showman.
Of course he could have gone to Manchester City. He would have done very well there under Pep Guardiola, thank you very much.
Meanwhile, a return to Real Madrid would hardly have made us fall off our chairs in amazement.
But arriving at Manchester United for a second spell, 12 years after he departed? Now that’s what has made football romantics everywhere sit up and take notice.
Not that we should be totally naive and pretend emotions are the only thing at play here. United are paying Ronaldo an absolute fortune.
There are four hundred thousand reasons a week why he will relish his time back at Old Trafford.
However, there is undoubtedly a special link between player and club too. Ronaldo may have given Real his peak years but he did his growing up in Manchester.
Sir Alex Ferguson signed Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon in 2003 after he wowed United players in a friendly.
Right from the start — remember that jinky performance on the wing from the floppy-haired 18-year-old against Bolton in his first game — it was obvious English football had someone very special in its midst. He finished his first season with a trophy, scoring in the FA Cup final win over Millwall.
For a year or so after that, the club wasn’t in its best place. In fact, 2005 was an annus horribilis. United lost the FA Cup final to Arsenal. The unpopular Glazer family became owners. The Reds were so ordinary that autumn — Roy Keane put it more candidly than that — there was even talk the Ferguson era might have run its course. No, really.
As it happens, I remember being at the San Siro in the spring of 2005. An experienced and canny AC Milan team (not that they showed those qualities much in the Istanbul final) were too hot for a young United side, including Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, to handle. But Ferguson vowed they would learn the lessons and come good. As so often, he was bang on the money.
Ronaldo and Co helped United to the 2006 League Cup. But they thirsted for bigger prizes and the following season was an epic, with United going toe-to-toe with Jose Mourinho’s double league winners Chelsea.
After the match, Ronaldo spoke of his delight to be back at Old Trafford, where he believes he can fulfil all of his ambitions.
“My return to Old Trafford was just a brief reminder of why this stadium is known as the Theater of Dreams,” he wrote on Instagram.
“For me, it has always been a magical place where you can achieve everything you set your mind into.
“Along with all my teammates and with the amazing support that we always get from the stands, we face the road ahead with confidence and optimism that we’ll all be celebrating together in the end.
“Proud to be back at Man United and playing in the Premier League once again, but above all, happy to help the team. Let’s go, Devils!”
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