The Weekly Take, Issue 173: Title Contenders Overnight

Just last week, if you had asked me about what I thought of Manchester United's chances of winning a title this season, I'd have said "slim to none". In a best-case scenario, I'd have expected the Red Devils to have reached the Champions League quarterfinals and finished third in the Premier League. Do note that this would've been my prediction for what I thought would've been the absolute best results that this season's United team could've achieved.

Of course, all of this changed with just one transfer. In a stunning move that will have surely changed the landscape of European football, Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Manchester United after having spent three years at Juventus. Ronaldo will begin his second stint at United after having played there from 2003 to 2009. During his first six years at United, Ronaldo won the Champions League and Ballon d'Or in 2008 as well as three Premier League titles.

Remarkably, the transfer was made for the astonishingly low price of €25 million. This figure would ordinarily be understandable, given the fact that Ronaldo will be 37 in February. However, even at his age, the Portuguese legend has shown no signs of slowing down and could easily have commanded triple the price.

Ronaldo's arrival has turned United into genuine contenders for both the Premier League and Champions League titles. With Ronaldo on their roster, United now possess arguably the most potent attacking force in world football. They add Ronaldo to an attacking line which already includes Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, and Anthony Martial. It's more than likely that this season, there will be an avalanche of goals at Old Trafford.

It almost seems as though this United team was set up for Ronaldo's return at any time. Prior to United's acquisition of Ronaldo, Fernandes had been their best player. However, as great a player as Fernandes is, he seems to have hit his peak at a level just below that of "centrepiece of a Champions League-winning team". That's not a knock on Fernandes by any means. There are fewer than 10, and sometimes five, such players in the world at any given time.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, is one of those players. In addition to the many goals he will undoubtedly score for United, he will bring intangibles to the team - more than any other player in the world could. He is perhaps the most clutch player in the history of football. Where do we even begin with this? His five Champions League titles, four of which came as the best player of 2013-18 Real Madrid - the greatest dynasty in the history of club football? Coming out on top in an epic duel with Zlatan Ibrahimović with a spot in the World Cup on the line? Or the countless times he almost single-handedly willed his United or Real teams to victory? This is the mentality with which he will infuse this United team - it might just be the X-factor that United need.

On top of that, no one can say that this United team is not a balanced one. In addition to their attacking prowess, United can boast of the likes of Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Paul Pogba, and Scott McTominay - a solid foundation which will provide their attackers with what they need behind them.

Additionally, it really is now or never for head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjær. After almost three years at the helm, Solskjær has not yet led United to any titles. While this would not have been expected prior to Ronaldo's arrival, everything will certainly have changed now. If United once again finish the season empty-handed, it will be extremely likely that the Norwegian will lose his job.

This is probably United's most talented team since the 2008-09 edition, the last time Ronaldo was on the team. That team also featured Nemanja Vidić, Wayne Rooney, Patrice Evra, and Carlos Tevez; it would only be denied back-to-back Champions League titles by a Barcelona team which, quite simply, went "god mode".

It's much too early in the season to conclusively say anything, but there seems to be no reason why United fans shouldn't consider their team in contention to clinch the fourth Champions League title in the club's history this season.

The Weekly Take, Issue 52: The CR7 Effect

Every great football dynasty has a singular moment which ends up being the beginning of the end of their time at the top.

For example, after the legendary Inter Milan team of 1962-67 lost the European Cup final to Celtic, the “Grande Inter” era came to an abrupt halt. Over the next 20 years, Inter only won four titles and finished in the top two of Serie A just three times.

It became evident that Liverpool’s two-decade run of sustained excellence, yielding title after title including four European Cups, was over after a crushing 5-1 loss against Coventry in December 1992. The Reds have not been the same since.

AC Milan were the dominant team of the early to mid-2000s, reaching three Champions League finals between 2003 and 2007 and winning two. However, they suffered a shock loss to Arsenal in the 2008 Champions League’s round of 16 and were subsequently displaced from world football’s top table in short order.

Real Madrid have hit such a watershed moment.

Real’s 1-0 loss to Barcelona in a La Liga El Clásico match underscored this fact: the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus brought about the end of the current Real Madrid dynasty.

The numbers are revealing. Real are currently on pace to average 70 points in La Liga this season. They have not ended the season with that low a total since 2006, three years before Ronaldo’s arrival at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Real’s goalscoring output, or lack thereof, is even more damning.

At their current pace, Real are on track to score 63 league goals this season. This would be their lowest total since 2000. What makes this even worse is the fact that Real’s lowest league goal total in the Ronaldo era was 94.

But it’s not just about the raw numbers. There’s a reason why Cristiano Ronaldo won four Ballon d’Or titles during his time at Real, and why Real won four Champions League titles during the Ronaldo era.

Just Ronaldo’s presence on the field tipped the balance in Real’s favour. Such was the threat he posed and the fear he placed in opponents that it was almost as though Real were playing 12 against 11 when Ronaldo was playing.

It’s not as if Los Merengues didn’t try to rebuild in the wake of the Portuguese superstar’s departure. They signed Thibaut Courtois from Chelsea, who was fresh off winning the Golden Glove at the World Cup. Unfortunately for Real, Courtois has not kept up the form that earned him the honour. Real Madrid have conceded 31 league goals this season, putting them level with 14th-placed Leganés in this statistic.

Real were also banking on reigning Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modrić to assume the superstar mantle that the Portuguese legend left behind. However, they failed to take something very important into account: Modrić’s age. The Croatian is 33 years old. For players other than goalkeepers and defenders, this is usually around the age when a player’s performance begins to “fall off a cliff”. It is almost certain that last season was Modrić’s last as an elite player.

Real’s immense dependence on Ronaldo during his nine years there has clearly been shown this season. The signings of Courtois and Álvaro Odriozola, a coaching change which installed Santiago Solari at the helm, and the institution of a more team-based strategy do not seem to have improved the situation at the club. Ronaldo’s long shadow still dominates the landscape at the Bernabéu.

However, in this coming off-season, there is one thing Real can do to mitigate the situation. Real need to sign Eden Hazard from Chelsea. As I’ve written about before, Hazard is currently wasting his prime years on a dysfunctional team which has completely failed to build around his tremendous talent. While Hazard might not be at the level of a prime Ronaldo, he is nevertheless good enough to be the player who leads Real back to the top.

It is never easy to replace a player like Cristiano Ronaldo. Although Real started the season strongly, it was inevitable that at some point, they would face significant struggles. However, no one could have predicted that it would have been quite this bad in the Spanish capital.