The news of Ronaldo returning to Manchester United shook what has been the most active transfer season in football in recent years.
Nobody would have envisioned Messi and Ramos playing together. It however became a reality when they both moved to PSG, for a price any team could afford if you win a lottery; a free transfer. Mbappe at the same time was pushing for a move to Real Madrid with the team bidding $180m, which was eventually rejected by PSG.
The news that topped it all was Ronaldo’s fairytale return to Manchester United. Within a few minutes after the official announcement, the Manchester United website crashed with traffic while the social media handles were blazing. Soon after the jersey sales were topping the charts while the aura around Old Trafford and the Manchester community around the world was all jubilant. This was a dream the Manchester fans had hoped for but never thought possible.
Man, were they right to be so cheerful. Ronaldo already has four goals in three games this season. This begs the question, should they be starting to put the champagne on ice waiting for trophy celebrations to come at the end of the season?
Manchester United trophy drought
Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in world football. It has the highest number of premier league titles and the second-highest Champions league titles in England only after Liverpool. However, they seem to have lost their winning ways in recent times.
Manchester’s most recent trophy was in May 2017 after winning the Europa League with Jose Mourhino. Ever since they have come close to lifting a trophy only to end up disappointed. In the recent past, they have reached and lost four semi-finals; the Carabao Cup, FA, EFL and the Europa. While they managed to move a step further and get to the finals of the Europa League, they still lost to Seville, a team that finished 7th in La Liga.
Such losses and misses of opportunities have never been part of Manchester United’s legacy. The fans crave the joy of lifting trophies and keeping records as the best team in world football. Even worse is that their neighbours Manchester City, have become perennial winners in recent times. It is more like they have swapped places.
How best to get back to lifting trophies than through a known winner and a club legend.
Ronaldo is a known winner
Cristiano Ronaldo remains one of the most successful players in modern football. His only comparison is with the other world’s menace in the form of Messi, who remains within their own league as the world’s best footballers.
After leaving Manchester United in 2009, Ronaldo has built a reputation for being a winner. He has won an unprecedented four Champions League titles at Real Madrid, La Liga, Copa del Rey and multiple Ballon Dors. Later moving to Juventus, he won the league title and other trophies. He has also won the Euro title with the national team, Portugal.
In all of these wins, he was not only part of a team, but rather the main man. He has proven a player who never disappears when needed, instead, he rises to the occasion and helps the team, while literally giving the tears, sweat and blood. The multiple individual awards tell it all.
Combining desire and legacy
Manchester United’s only desire at the moment is to go back to the top, where they believe they belong. There’s nobody else to take them to the summit than the proven winner. From time to time, the team has shown they can have great winning runs. Last season in particular was a time the team showed capability when they finished second on the league standings. There were times when they were top of the league and the football world was buzzing.
While Ronaldo cannot win it himself for the team, he will play a crucial role. He has proven to improve those around him. There’s that confidence that comes when players understand the best player in their team. The more confident a team is, the more wins they can rake.
From the first few games, Manchester had everything to go to that one last step. The Paul Pogba that Manchester United fans have longed to see seems to be present. Even though touted as world-class, Pogba rarely gives consistent top performances in a United shirt, as he does for France. However, with seven assists from four games so far, he might have just discovered his club form. Bruno Fernandez remains one of the best transfers in the team’s recent period. August’s player of the month, Mason Greenwood, seems to never stop scoring. Harry Maguire, Fred and De Gea all seem reborn. The team has also added Varane and Sancho to their ranks, while they still have top players like Rashford and Cavani.
While May might seem a long way to come, Manchester United fans can dream a little more. Not that it will be any easy. Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City still have teams who can win anything. Having Ronaldo however gives the United side an edge.
Do you believe Ronald gives Manchester that edge they have lacked in recent times?
Sport
Bryan Mbuemo transfer saga looks to finally be over as Manchester United agree deal with Brentford
Danny Jones
In one of the biggest transfer sagas of the 2025 summer transfer window, it looks like Manchester United have got their man, as an agreement with Brentford FC is in place and a move for Bryan Mbuemo looks to be a done deal.
Following weeks and weeks of speculation, minor nudges back and forth in the market, it has now been reported that French-born Mbuemo is heading to Man United, having made it apparent that Old Trafford was his desired destination for some time.
Having initially entered a bid of around £45 million before bonuses last month, the west London club stuck to their guns and appear to have got their overall asking price for the player.
According to Ornstein, a trusted transfer source and ever-reliable journalist, United are expected to pay Brentford an estimated £65m for Mbeumo’s signature.
However, with add-ons of approximately £6m, the attacking midfielder’s total price comes out at more than £70m, making his a fee a sales record for a now established Premier League side who have become known as a ‘feeder/selling club’ with excellent recruitment.
It is also said that MUFC and INEOS have arranged for a payment structure that will see the transfer funded over the course of four-year instalments, with a contract valid until 2030 and the option to extend by a further 12 months.
Well-known for using the so-called ‘Moneyball‘ model to their success in recent years, Mbuemo was signed by the Bees back in 2019, when they were still in the Championship, and he cost just £5.8m from ES Troyes AC – also a club record signing at the time.
Fast forward just a few seasons, not to mention 121 goal contributions in all competitions (28 of those coming last season alone), and he’s been deemed worth about 12 times that amount.
Here are just a few reasons why they’ve been after him.
"He's a player who likes to attack space!" 🔥
With Bryan Mbuemo Manchester United-bound, what can we expect from the winger? 👀 pic.twitter.com/ebmG8scUBy
Still just 25 years old, it’s fair to say he fits the balance of age and experience that the club are looking to recruit, as well as boasting a profile that suits the system Ruben Amorim is looking to deploy with his ever-shifting squad.
At least on paper, anyway.
Meanwhile, outgoing deals are still expected to be completed before the end of the summer window, with key first-team players like homegrown Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, and loanee Antony all still expected to depart.
Stockport school sees under 15s girls football team crowned national champions
Danny Jones
A local Stockport secondary has welcomed home their under-15s girls’ football team as national champions after winning the English Schools’ FA Cup.
Marple Hall School (MHS), located in the south-east part of the old Cheshire borough, is a high-performing educational institution known for its strong investment in youth sport.
Boasting a large sports hall, dedicated 3G footy pitches, MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area), gymnasium, netball and tennis courts, as well as other grass surfaces, many of the town’s nearby clubs make use of the facilities throughout the year.
However, it’s their homegrown talent that is having the spotlight rightfully shone on them this week, as a side of junior female footballers won the prestigious FA tournament for sporting youngsters.
The squad of Year 10 girls – consisting of Marple Hall players aged 14-15 – faced off against Kings Langley last week in the decisive fixture away at Sixways Stadium, home of Worcester City FC and the Worcester Warriors rugby union side.
Following their landmark victory this month, this most recent title has seen them crowned Stockport, Manchester and now National champions, thanks to their 2-1 win in the Development Cup Finals.
Writing in a proud and lengthy post on the school’s website, headteacher Joe Barker described the campaign as “a remarkable run for a remarkable team” and a “thoroughly deserved” trophy, despite coming up against a “really strong team” travelling from the Hertfordshire village.
Barker went on to add: “Team MHS were supported so well by the travelling family and friends, and of course by the 44 students who made their presence known in the stands. Outnumbered but certainly not outvoiced, the chants from team MHS were non-stop and so supportive.
“Not only that, but the whole school got behind the team with the tie live-streamed into every classroom and our halls over lunch.
“My colleagues tell me that they have never felt an atmosphere like it at MHS, the whole school site reverberating to the cheers when the teams came out, when Penny scored her two amazing goals, and at the final whistle.”
He even cited an anecdote of one young pupil telling fellow teacher Miss Gregory: “This is a really mint day for our school, isn’t it, miss? I’m really glad I come here!” He was responding to the moment the aforementioned Stopfordian star, Penny Hallos, scored an audacious backheel to make it a brace.
Unsurprisingly, she earned the player of the match award for her game-winning efforts.
To make things even sweeter, the incredible achievement was also recognised in the House of Commons, with Hazel Grove MP Lisa Smart motioning to toast their success among her fellow peers.
Celebrating not just the English championship but their Treble-winning year, Smart declared: “The whole of the town is incredibly proud of these girls for their achievements.
“My recent hundredth speech in Parliament was on ensuring that girls and young women were given the opportunities to participate in sport, and it is fantastic to be able to celebrate these young women who are doing just that.
“It’s great to be able to help celebrate their national success at Parliament, and I look forward to them achieving wonderful things going forward.”
Better still, nearly £1,500 was raised on top of the fund collected in order to help get the girls to the ground on matchday, and all that money is going directly towards further sports provision for the girls and young women’s sport, specifically.
You can watch the game in full down below, but we’ve highlighted that ingenious second strike from Hallos for you (rewind to around 41:45 to see her equaliser).
Congrats again to the SK, Greater Mancunian and now National champions – we hope we go on to see plenty of your names up in lights soon enough.
The Manc -
18th September 2021 
