It was a fairytale return for Cristiano Ronaldo when he joined Man Utd last summer, and he made his mark on the club with some important goals and a huge boost to the winning mentality. 

When you think of a sports person that is a true winner, you think of the likes of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Lionel Messi and also would put Ronaldo in that category. He is a player that will do anything he can to win, and that shows by his crazy stats, and his ability to turn a game on its head all by himself. Even when he has barely seen action in a game he will score an important goal out of nowhere.

But after a season back at United, Ronaldo has announced his desire to leave Old Trafford. And you can see why after United had their worst Premier League season in history, picking up just 58 points as they finished sixth, a huge 35 points behind their local rivals Man City.

Cristiano is not used to finishing 6th, and even though he contributed a lot to his team they never looked like competing for silverware, and failing to earn Champions League status was probably a big factor in his desire to leave. Ronaldo has never played in the Europa League, and he’s not had many seasons where he didn’t win at least one major trophy, so you can imagine why he would want to find a club that will be competing on the biggest club stage in the Champions League, and also competing for the team’s domestic title.

Manchester United have said he is not for sale, but there have already been rumours about where he may be playing this coming season. Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Roma have all been mentioned in the media as potential moves.

The deal to bring Ronaldo to Man Utd was supposed to be a win-win. The club looked further than just the goals when they signed him, because they also wanted to use the marketing capabilities that Ronaldo brings and is well aware of, and is very smart about how he achieved his level. Even still if we look at all active top players now, there is probably no one that comes close to his marketing level.

This is also key for his new club and himself. Being away from the Champions League will not help him push even further and he would not enjoy missing out on the competition. This is also why a move to London would be a big surprise regardless of the marketing connections the Americans have always been very good at.

But it wouldn’t be a big surprise if he leaves the country, after coming back and feeling like he couldn’t get more out of his return.

I am interested in Bayern’s situation with Lewandowski, and Chelsea’s with Lukaku who just left on loan. Both clubs know they could use a striker in the short-term while they invest time looking for their diamond for the future. #mmlove