Why Woodward must BLANK Ronaldo if Man Utd offered Real Madrid star

by Chris Beattie2015-11-08 11:28:25.000000

COMMENT: If Florentino Perez offers Cristiano Ronaldo to Ed Woodward, the Manchester United vice-chairman will snap his hand off, right?

In a perfect world, no matter the price, nor the circumstances, you take the Real Madrid man if offered...

But United these days are far from perfect and if Woodward and Louis van Gaal dither - should Real president Florentino open the door to negotiations - fans ought to give both the benefit of the doubt.

Two years ago, back in 2013, such a deal would be understandable. Fresh from winning the league, under a new manager and with a dressing room dominated by senior players, Ronaldo's arrival would've made sense. But today, with United clearly in transition, it would be bold move by all concerned to bring the No7 back to Old Trafford.

Ronaldo left United six years ago as a young man. A Ballon d'Or winner, sure. But still, he parted ways at 24 years of age. At 30, going on 31, Ronaldo would return a transformed personality. Indeed, United wouldn't simply be signing a great player, but an industry - and with all distractions that go with it.

Ronaldo, at this stage in his career, is the player you sign to win trophies. He's the one to take your team from a final four finish in the Champions League to European title winners. That's simply not where United are at this stage in their rebuild.

PSG you can understand. They're walking the domestic title and can lay claim to being a semifinal prospect - at the very least - in the Champions League. Swapping Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Ronaldo, in addition to a tweak here or there, could be enough to turn them into European winners next season.

Across the channel at Old Trafford, we're talking about a team which is five years away (and that's being optimistic) from reaching PSG's level. Is spending €100 million-plus to bring Ronaldo back to the club really the right investment for a team far from being considered a top four certainty?

You don't buy Ronaldo to scrap for Champions League qualification.

And what of Ryan Giggs? How would the dynamic be between the manager-in-waiting and his former junior teammate?

Say what you like about Van Gaal this season - and we've all had plenty to say - but he is laying some very exciting foundations for Giggs to build upon when he takes over in 2017.

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson was handed a debut yesterday against West Brom in a game settled by youngsters Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial. Not making the game were Memphis Depay and Luke Shaw - all ten-year players in the making. And the manager has done the dirty work, along with Woodward, to make Giggs' promotion as smooth as possible. Out have gone the opinionated, senior group which so happily undermined David Moyes. The turnover of players is such that when Giggs does take charge, those who regard him as an ex-teammate will be in the minority.

But how does the rookie manager cope handling the force of nature that is CR7? Just this week, he spoke of taking a blast from Roy Keane on the chin and obeying Sir Alex Ferguson's instructions to the letter. But that was back in the mid-2000s.

The Ronaldo of today is the man who - without agent Jorge Mendes - will sit face-to-face with Perez, in the Real president's office, and demand an explanation about the state of contract negotiations. He's the man who will not only defy his manager Jose Mourinho, but do so in front of the entire locker room at the top of his voice. He's the player whose record demands everyone else must play supporter. A great player. The best in the world. A wonderful example for United's academy prospects to follow. But not the player to rebuild a squad that has just about been raised to the ground since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement.

Should the reunion indeed happen, Ronaldo may never see silverware again. Or, if all goes to plan, will only have a minor part to play in his mid-30s. It'd have echoes of Bryan Robson, who having served United so courageously, only tasted Premier League glory in his late 30's as a support act to the headliners like Keane and Eric Cantona.

If Van Gaal has his way, this deal won't happen. Mendes, via an intermediary, tested the ground almost a year ago about the prospect of Ronaldo returning last summer and the response was negative. It's understood it was this reply that sparked the usually low-key Mendes' very public criticism of Van Gaal over his handling of Radamel Falcao and Angel di Maria.

But we know that Woodward loves a big name signing. And the romance of seeing Ronaldo back in United red would be virtually irresistible.

However, at this stage in the club's history and the state they find themselves in, the answer from United's board, if Mendes makes that call, should be 'thanks for the memories'.

INJURY TIME

There is a goalscorer at Real Madrid that Louis van Gaal would like to tempt to Old Trafford.

When Jose Angel Sanchez, Real's football director, raised the prospect of Keylor Navas moving to United as part of the David de Gea deal last summer, Ed Woodward, on instructions from Van Gaal, asked after Borja Mayoral.

The 18 year-old striker, fresh from firing Spain to victory in the U19 Euros, was the player Van Gaal wanted as part of the De Gea package.

Tribalfootball.com has been informed that Woodward's enquiries made it all the way to the player and produced a response from his Castilla coach Zinedine Zidane, "Van Gaal likes Borja? I like him too!"

Pace, power, strong on both sides of his body and a natural finisher, many rate Mayoral the best striker for his age in Europe. And incredibly, Real are dragging their feet in tying him down to a new deal.

United have maintained a watching brief this season, encouraged that Mayoral, if Real don't get a move on, will be allowed to come off contract in June.

This prospect opens the door to United securing the striker to a pre-contract from January 1. A different type of player to Cristiano Ronaldo, but at the same age, arguably just as talented.