You wouldn't be called crazy if you had tipped Manchester United as one of the Premier League Title contenders last season. I mean, why not?!

They had finished second the previous season and did not lose a single Premier League game away from home all season. They also reached the Europa League final that season. Come summer, they made some very impressive signings as well. Jadon Sancho arrived from Borussia Dortmund for £76.5m after lighting up the Bundesliga with goals and assists while he was there. Raphael Varane then arrived next for £36m from Real Madrid after winning the World Cup, 4 Champions Leagues and almost every other trophy there was to win in a Football career. They then topped all of that by re-signing Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus for just €15m (£12.86m). The fans went crazy! Now they were surely going to win the Champions League, the Copa America and all the trophies in the World.

You have to excuse them. United had not won a trophy for 5 years and if there's one thing Ronaldo guarantees, it's goals... and trophies. 815 career goals with 31 trophies are testament to that. Everywhere Ronaldo has gone, he has scored goals and he has won trophies. Just ask Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United themselves. A brace on his second debut for the Club against Newcastle further announced his arrival. United fans were in dreamland!

But it all came crashing down all too soon. An unexpected loss against Young Boys in the Champions League were signs of things to come in the following months. Then came embarrassing losses against Watford, Liverpool (twice), Manchester City (twice), Brighton & others. Losses with depressing score-lines like 4-1, 5-0, 4-0 cost Ole Gunnar Solskjaer his job as manager. Ralf Rangnick came in as interim manager to steady the ship but he didn't fare any better. Despite their big money signings and Ronaldo leading their attack, United had crashed out of all competitions by February and ended the season 6th on the Premier League table with a goal difference of 0.

By summer, Cristiano Ronaldo wanted out. As far as he was concerned he had done his job. He was United's highest goal-scorer and his goals were important. Equalizers, opening goals and winning goals. Despite their shambolic season, he had managed 24 goals, 14 more than the next person on the list at Manchester United. That they failed to win any trophies was not his fault. He couldn't waste another season with the uncertainty surrounding the club and more importantly, he couldn't miss the UEFA Champions League, his favourite competition. He refused to show up for pre-season and his agent reportedly offered him to top clubs around Europe including PSG, Bayern Munich, Chelsea all to no avail. In typical big-club style, United have insisted that their Portuguese talisman is not for sale and new manager Erik ten Hag has said he's keen to work with the former Juventus man but honestly, Ronaldo and Manchester United seem to be in a loveless marriage that needs to end as soon as possible.

From Ronaldo's perspective, his reason for wanting to leave is clear. The man is 37 years old. He's won it all, he's done it all. He's in the retirement zone. He might appear and claim to be fit as a fiddle but in reality, he has only a few years left at the top or even in his football career. All he's chasing now are his records. Matching records, breaking records, creating records. As a matter of fact, as he is now the highest goalscorer of all time, every goal Ronaldo scores is a new record. Should he then waste his retirement years at a club with an uncertain future like Manchester United? No no no. Whilst United might have made some changes on the pitch and in the backroom last summer including at the executive level, there's still no guarantee that they will become a major contender this season or even next season. Losing their first 2 games this season and their continued sluggishness in the transfer window was further evidence to that fact. And there's this issue of the Champions League. As far as Ronaldo is concerned, the Champions League is his true home, his natural habitat. He has a record to protect over there from the prying eyes of rivals like Messi and Lewandowski. In fact, Ronaldo is just 15 goals ahead of his greatest rival (140-125) so he will be very worried that he won't be able to add to his own tally while Messi plays in the UCL with PSG this season. After playing 19 successive seasons in the Champions League, the Europa League is foreign to him. In fact, the last time Ronaldo played in the Europa League was in October 2002 as a 17 year old with Sporting Lisbon when the competition was still known as the UEFA Cup. Former teammate Rio Ferdinand has said Ronaldo has never even heard the Europa League anthem before. For CR7 and his camp, Manchester United are dragging him down and he no longer has the time to help them back up. The solution for them is clear; Ronaldo has to leave for another club... in the Champions League.

From Manchester United's perspective, they have to act like a big club that they are (or used to be at least) and show that they can't be bullied by any player and their agent. You know, that usual "no player is bigger than the club" mantra. Their public stance was clear: Ronaldo is not for sale. But in hindsight, recent analysis suggest that United may be better off letting Ronaldo leave. But why should they let their leading goalscorer from the previous season leave? Well, before Ronaldo arrived, they had a relatively good season and they didn't lack goals. That season, only Manchester City, the Champions outscored them in the League. The goalscoring load was shared amongst the squad with Cavani, Rashford and Bruno leading the charts. Experts and fans alike agree that this indicates a healthy squad fighting for each other. Even more worrying is the consideration that for the last 5 years, attackers playing with Ronaldo find their goals drying up whenever he arrives. Take Paulo Dybala at Juventus for instance, who scored 19 goals in the 2016/17 season, then topped that with 26 goals in the 2017/18 season. When Ronaldo arrived in the 2018/19 season, Dybala could only manage 10 goals. In Ronaldo's last season at Juve, Dybala scored just 5 goals. Gonzalo Higuain also saw his tally drop from 23 to 11 goals in the 1 season he played with Ronaldo at Juventus. Ronaldo meanwhile scored 28, 37 and 36 goals in the 3 seasons he spent at Juventus. United's attackers are now suffering a similar fate. It surely must be an issue for Erik ten Hag who has already benched Ronaldo in 2 of his first 3 games in charge. Will Ronaldo even fit into his project? Will Ronaldo have the patience to see the project grow? Does Ronaldo have the time it will take for ten Hag's plans to key into place? Well, we will find out.

Then there's this issue of Ronaldo's acceptance and willingness to work with ten Hag. You may ask why a manager requires the acceptance of a player but we're talking about Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the greatest of all time. He's paid his dues, he's earned those rights. Every club in Europe denies presence of player power in their team but there are certain players in every club a manager must win over or subdue to succeed. Ronaldo is one of such players. Already, Ronaldo and ten Hag have reportedly had their disagreements. After their friendly against Real Sociedad earlier in August, United's new manager slammed the Portuguese attacker for leaving the stadium before the match ended. He said "There were many more who went home. I certainly don’t condone this. This is not acceptable." This comes after Ronaldo already failed to show up for the majority of United’s pre-season preparations and the club’s tour of Thailand and Australia. It has also been reported that ten Hag told Ronaldo and club captain Harry Maguire that they would be benched against Liverpool in front of the whole squad. A shocker.

For Ronaldo, being benched for a crucial game against Liverpool by a player like Anthony Elanga spells the beginning of the end of his football career or his career at Manchester United. For United, benching their talismanic attacker in such a crucial game means they no longer count on him. United continue to be linked to several attackers before the transfer window closes including Antony, whom ten Hag worked with at Ajax. They've also been linked with former player Memphis Depay who is set to leave Barcelona. It appears ten Hag does not favour Ronaldo at Manchester United as the man himself appears to be yearning for an exit. For both parties, a solution can be reached. An amicable departure. There are already rumours of a return to his boyhood club, Sporting Lisbon who are of course playing in the Champions League. Ronaldo's legacy as a Manchester United legend will still be preserved. He is still loved and adored by majority of the fans and by Sir Alex Ferguson. Some marriages don't work out but both the bride and the groom can separate peacefully and remain good friends. This could be one of such.