Cristiano Ronaldo is standing behind his return to Manchester United ahead of a second season back with the Old Trafford set.
The 37-year-old center forward scored 24 times in 39 appearances for United after three seasons at Juventus, but the club’s season was a monumental failure.
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was fired and interim manager Ralf Rangnick was not retained, and new boss Erik ten Hag is already cleaning house as Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, and Juan Mata are all leaving the club.
But Ronaldo is confident he can be a happy player and help lift United back into the top four picture as the Red Devils seek a first trophy since Jose Mourinho left with the 2016-17 League Cup and Europa League titles.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s thoughts on Man Utd moving forward
Ten Hag has praised Ronaldo’s elite scoring and the Portuguese is defying age to remain a 20-plus goal scorer.
And Ronaldo says he’s still happy at Old Trafford at that the club is capable of getting silverware.“It’s still my motivation to carry on working hard, to still love the passion for the game, and of course Manchester and my teammates help me all the way so I have to appreciate all the people who help Cristiano.
“But the most important thing for me is to try to win the games and try to win some championship or some cup but I believe that Manchester will be where they belong. Sometimes it takes time, but I still believe.”
The third-person stuff is just... on brand. You will note that there isn’t an explicit commitment to be at the club, something one might expect given the time of season.
Ronaldo returned to United on Aug. 31 and his tenure had brilliant and low moments. His legacy won’t be tainted at age 37 but he’s certainly got a little something to prove regarding his actions backing up his words.
