A Change in Formation? How Ronaldo fits into new look Manchester United

Aug 27

It’s official…

Cristiano Ronaldo is once again a Manchester United player!

In a move that was seemingly impossible just a few hours ago, United have acquired the 36-year-old Portuguese, who reportedly rejected a move to rivals Manchester City in favour of a Red Devils return.

Whilst I do think CR7 would have fit well into Pep Guardiola’s tactical set-up, a fairytale move back to United at this stage could work wonders for both parties.

Would Ronaldo have fit into Man City?

Yes.

Particularly at this stage of his career, a move to a slick City side who continually engulf opposition with their possession-based brand of football would have suited Cristiano well.

With how Ronaldo’s play-style has adapted over the years, his experience as an out-and-out, world class centre-forward would have resolved Pep’s number 9 issue.

It would have been chances galore for Ronaldo, with the likes of De Bruyne, Grealish, Mahrez & Gundogan all providing a plethora of creative threat.

Here is how he would have fit:

How will Ronaldo fit into this new look Manchester United side?

Quite easily.

There are a number of ways to integrate CR7 into the squad through the means of a slight system tweak, if Ole feels that this is necessary.

Whilst Ronaldo could seamlessly slot into the lone forward role in Ole’s notorious 4-2-3-1 system, I believe a strike partner in the form of Edinson Cavani would complement him well.

Besides, during his time in Turin with Juve, he’s been used to playing in a strike partnership - most recently partnering Paulo Dybala in former boss, Andrea Pirlo’s 4-4-2 system.

At 36-years-old, Ronaldo’s play-style and presence up-top has changed drastically since his departure some 12 years ago. In a positional sense, CR7 has adapted his game to function more centrally. It could be argued that he plays in a much more astute way, with his play-style more reminiscent of a classic number 9, in complete contrast to the Ronaldo we last saw back in 2009.

With this being said, here are three formations that I believe Ronaldo can shine in, without the other world-class attacking talent in Fernandes, Pogba, Cavani and Sancho being affected.