COMMENT: Whether by fault or design. For this time. For the team, indeed the club, in this cycle. Bringing back Cristiano Ronaldo is a stunning piece of transfer business by sudden title contenders Manchester United...
Take away the emotion. The personalities. Simply work from paper. Ronaldo - today's Ronaldo - is exactly the player this United team needs.
He'll be 37 in February, the critics are already claiming. He's not the player he was when leaving United 12 years ago, others insist. But that player isn't what United have been missing during this Solskjaer era.
A youthful, goalscoring winger? United now have that in Jadon Sancho. A ball-playing centre-half to complement captain Harry Maguire? They have that in Raphael Varane. And if it can't be Harry Kane leading the line, guaranteeing 30-odd goals a season, United couldn't have found a better alternative.
Yeah, he's 36. But Ronaldo is a 36 year-old who returns to his old club on the back of 101 goals in 134 games over three seasons with Juventus. Scoring as consistently as he did in LaLiga with Real Madrid, yet in a much tougher, more defensively-minded competition as Serie A is. United haven't signed the player of 2009. They were never in the market for that type. They've signed a goalscorer. The greatest goalscorer. Everything that United have been missing, now found in the Portuguese. This is the final piece in the jigsaw.
Suddenly United are contenders. There's no umming or ahhing now. No hesitation. For United, perhaps the most transformative window we've seen since England's football authorities caved into FIFA over 20 years ago, has propelled them into contention. For this column, it will be a mark against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer if the manager cannot bring the Premier League crown back to Old Trafford this season.
Solskjaer and Ronaldo together as United teammates
A fortnight ago we discussed the significance of Varane's arrival. It had created a new expectation. At 28. Giving his best years to the club. Varane hadn't signed for United to carry on a development phase. He wanted to spend his career's best years challenging for honours. The onus would be on Solskjaer and the club's front office to meet those demands.
The Ronaldo deal now affirms that belief. This United team. Under this United manager. They're now playing for titles. There's no more excuses. No more hiding behind buzz words like 'evolving' and 'maturing'. This team's cycle is at it's peak. Anything less than silverware will be failure. United are suddenly a proper football club again.
And again, affirming that is Ronaldo's arrival. Swapping Juventus for Solskjaer's United cannot underplayed. From where the club was almost three years ago upon his appointment to it's standing today deserves recognising. Juve didn't want to lose Ronaldo. Those inside the Bianconeri know how difficult it is to find 30 goals a season. It was Ronaldo who engineered this. He sees a greater prospect of success in his final years under Solskjaer than working at Juve with serial winner Max Allegri. It's a stunning endorsement.
Fabio Capello, the former Juve coach, is one who recognises the shift in United's profile: "Cristiano Ronaldo no longer believed in Juventus. But for him it's a happy ending.
"I think he made his assessment regarding the current Juventus. I suppose from his point of view, the team no longer had the strength to impose itself internationally."
No-one in Italy is counting out Juve as a title contender, particularly with Allegri's return. It would've been easy for Ronaldo to stay put. That he has chosen this leap of faith; with a team now eight years without a league title, is a credit to the work undergone inside United these past three years.
As we began, there was some good fortune behind this deal. Italian sources telling us that Ronaldo endured two thwarted efforts to leave before Sir Alex Ferguson made contact.
The Portuguese was prepared to join PSG earlier this summer. A reluctant Juve had settled on a swap involving Mauro Icardi. With all involved agreed, Icardi pulled out, with his family happy in Paris.
Then of course we had the Manchester City attempt. But this was one driven by primarily by Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes. City only coming on the scene after Kane's decision to stay with Tottenham - and Ronaldo's insistence that he be allowed to leave. Juve were reluctant, particularly with no direct replacement offered, as was Pep Guardiola. The City manager's call to Ronaldo, offering no playing guarantees, turning him off.
So there was luck involved. But as mentioned, the easiest decision for Ronaldo would've been to stay and play for Allegri. That he didn't is a sure sign of where United now stand amongst those whom matter in this industry.
United fans should be happy. They must be. Especially those who care about the club's history, it's legend. And those men on and off the pitch whom the club now stands upon the shoulders of. The culture is changing; improving. The demands of Varane, Ronaldo and Edi Cavani from themselves and those around them a throwback to past golden eras. There's no hiding now. Suddenly it's all changed... Manchester United are again genuine title contenders.
