As if he had never been gone: Cristiano Ronaldo shines on his debut, the Old Trafford rages, the mom cries. With CR7, Manchester United want to become invincible again. But Ronaldo is now 36 years old – and serious allegations have accompanied him to the island.
It was kind of like he’d never been gone. As if everything were the same as always. Cristiano Ronaldo scores – twice of course -, Old Trafford freaks out, Manchester United shines, takes a runaway win and storms to the top of the Premier League table. Ronaldo won three championships and once the Champions League with the club during his first engagement from 2003 to 2009. After the 4-1 win against Newcastle, the Red Devils fans are hoping for the league title again, the first since 2013. The hope of becoming invincible again at the venerable local Old Trafford.
“My return to Old Trafford was a brief reminder of why this stadium is known as the theater of dreams,” wrote Ronaldo on Instagram after the win. “For me it has always been a magical place where you can achieve everything you want to do. Together with all my team-mates and with the great support we always get from the stands, we see the path that lies ahead of us , with confidence and optimism, so that in the end we will all celebrate together. “
The nimbus of invincibility is as closely linked to Ronaldo as it is to ex-coach Sir Alex Ferguson. Since the coaching legend’s resignation (he was in office for 27 years) after the last championship, things have gone downhill for Man United, the Premier League and the handle pot could no longer be won. But city rivals City took over the supremacy in Manchester. So now Ronaldo’s sporty foster father felt reminded of old times on Saturday. Although Ferguson was not on the sidelines this time, but sat in the VIP box, the Portuguese he formed into a world-class footballer just picked up where he left off in 2009 at Old Trafford.
Just before the break, CR7 took the lead when Newcastle’s goalkeeper bounced the ball forward. The stadium was raging, Ferguson was beaming, Ronaldo’s mother was crying. Of course, the superstar insisted on his jubilee leap, which children all over the world are now imitating. “Siiii”, the round accompanied the final primal scream of the 36-year-old’s celebration choreography. “The Times” called the state of emergency “biblical enthusiasm”. Newcastle equalized quickly in the second half, but Ronaldo wouldn’t be Ronaldo if he didn’t have the right answer.
The Portuguese took a pass from Luke Shaw with a counter-attack at full speed with his right hand and completed it with his left through the braces of the keeper. The next ecstasy of joy followed, the next stadium-wide “Siiii” including macho groin movement. “As if he had never left,” tweeted team-mate Marcus Rashford after the game. “The king is back,” wrote the Guardian.
Of course, it was only the first game, but something is moving in Manchester. Just by the presence of Ronaldo. The subsequent goals by Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard were of such finesse and beauty that the fans had not seen them at Old Trafford for a long time. Even 45 minutes after the final whistle, the supporters loudly demanded that the superstar come back onto the field. Slowly CR7 stepped out of the tunnel for an encore and laughed at the fans asking them to go home. They finally left the stadium singing “Viva Ronaldo”.
With Ronaldo, the audience felt that there was no longer that certain fragility that United had so often accompanied in recent years. It only took the smallest of situations in the team for a good performance to turn into a defeat. Too often the giant stumbled, too often Crystal Palace, Burnley and Co. traveled to town and won. The invincibility, at some point the Old Trafford had completely lost it.
Coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now indicated that Ronaldo would ensure a higher level in the team. That the perfectionist and meticulous worker will not tolerate any negligence in the team. Such an attitude rubs off, especially on young players. The Portuguese immediately takes on responsibility in his new club and gave the address to the team on the Friday evening before his premiere. And with CR7 on the field (United striker Edinson Cavani was asked to give the shirt number to the newcomer), the fans, the opponents, the teammates and above all Ronaldo himself know: The superstar will most likely score his goal and it doesn’t matter As for the odds, his team is pretty sure going to win. That’s how it was in the past, that’s how it still seems to be going.
And so it is fitting that Ronaldo’s ex-club Juventus Turin went swimming 1: 2 at SCC Napoli two hours after his gala and is now bobbing around directly in front of the relegation ranks. “Cristiano Ronaldo, where are you? Juve painfully feels the absence of his ex-star,” wrote “Tuttosport”. What CR7 breathed into the team at Manchester is now missing from his old team: the aura of invincibility. “Weak, unimaginative and without a soul, Juve is only the shadow of itself,” said the “Corriere dello Sport”.
Rape lawsuit banner
Manchester United just have to be careful not to get too lost in their glorious past. Ronaldo is still one of the best players on the planet and, in addition to his qualities, has an enormous charisma. But the days when he decided game after game all by himself are over. The world of football has also changed, its balance of power looks different than in 2009. The Oil and Sheikh clubs represent a completely different kind of competition in the Premier League and in Europe. United is no longer an undisputed force and can at best become one one of the two superpowers in the city (back) molting.
And that with the 36-year-old not only goals, fame and Instagram followers, but also flaws and allegations are returning to Manchester, the fans could see high above Old Trafford. Gender equality group Level Up had a plane fly over the stadium to support Kathryn Mayorga, who had filed a rape lawsuit against Ronaldo. A banner urged fans to believe the woman who made the allegations that Ronaldo raped him in a hotel room in Las Vegas in 2009.
In 2010, Mayorga accepted money from the superstar and his lawyers under a nondisclosure agreement. The Nevada prosecutor’s office only stated in 2019 that Ronaldo, who, for example, had not previously been able to hold preparatory games in the United States with his clubs, would not be charged in connection with the allegations. Mayorga then filed a civil lawsuit claiming she was unable to sign the nondisclosure agreement back in 2010, shortly after the alleged crime. Ronaldo moved to dismiss the civil suit in June 2021.
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