Manchester United defender, Harry Maguire, has said that he thought the club would win the Premier League title when Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane joined the club.
The England international said this while sharing his thoughts on Ronaldo’s second stint at Old Trafford and detailing the circumstances that led to the 40-year-old’s sad end at the club.
Ronaldo joined the Red Devils in the summer of 2003 and became one of the best players in the world under Sir Alex Ferguson.
He later left for Real Madrid, played for Juventus and made a sensational return to Old Trafford in the summer of 2021.
At the time, Manchester United had just finished in second position on the Premier League table under then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Maguire hailed Ronaldo’s individual brilliance despite the club’s poor form.
United endured a difficult 2021/22 season, finishing sixth on the Premier League table. Despite the disappointing finish, Cristiano Ronaldo was able to score 24 goals in 38 appearances across competitions.
“I can’t speak a bad word about him,” Maguire said. “It was amazing to have him. Even when he just walked in through the door, it was incredible,” the Englishman said.
“It was just so disappointing how it ended and how we couldn’t find a way to perform with him in the team. He was performing, he was scoring goals. It was crazy, I don’t know how many he scored that year. We were rubbish and he was still scoring goals. It just shows how good he is.
“Our system under Ole was all about being on the front foot, being aggressive, pressing. It was all about pressing like a machine. We weren’t the best team, we finished second and third.
“We had some great players, don’t get me wrong, but it was all about tactics and working to maintain a shape.
“Obviously Cristiano came in and we just didn’t adapt well enough for him, and you could tell he was just so upset and frustrated.
“It was a season where everyone was so frustrated. We couldn’t believe what happened, we obviously finished second and third and then that season we bought Raphael Varane and Cristiano. You’re thinking, ‘here we go, let’s go and win the Premier League now.’
“And it just never happened, never clicked and we lost Ole, which was disappointing. I felt like Ole did an unbelievable job. I’ll speak more about him when I’ve retired, but the way he set us up in those two years, that was the best I ever felt in a team.
“It had nothing to do with Cristiano because, like I said, he was our best player that year by far. The tactics around him just didn’t work,” Maguire said.
Cristiano Ronaldo ultimately left Manchester United in December 2022 following a mutual agreement to terminate his contract.
