We ‘sold’ Cristiano Ronaldo in January and this is how Man Utd fared afterwards
Cristiano Ronaldo has come under fire for his on-pitch attitude in recent weeks, with former Manchester United defender Gary Neville speaking out.
Ronaldo produced a particularly underwhelming performance for United in their 1-1 draw against Newcastle United last Monday, with the 36-year-old being slammed for walking off the pitch at the full-time whistle rather than applauding the travelling fans, and not for the first time this season.
Ronaldo is one of the senior members in the current United squad, but the forward's antics on Monday night have been called out by ex-United player Gary Neville, who described the 36-year-old's actions as "devastating" towards his fellow teammates.
"[Ronaldo and] Bruno, those are the two senior players in that dressing room. It’s devastating for the young players if the two best players in the team are looking at the others as if they’re not good enough," said Neville on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football.
The Portugal international has scored seven goals in the Premier League since his arrival in August, but his impact on the squad has seen the output from other players decrease, with Mason Greenwood having scored three league goals before his arrival, and just one since.
There have been rumours circulating that Ronaldo is unhappy at United, and the 36-year-old could potentially leave the club if United failed to qualify for Champions League football next season.
So, if Ronaldo was to leave Manchester United in January, how would United perform? Would they struggle without their talisman, or will other forwards in the squad flourish without the 36-year-old? Let's take a look.
We 'sold' Cristiano Ronaldo for Man United in January 2022
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Ronaldo to leave Manchester United at the start of the upcoming January 2022 transfer window, with FM22 predicting that the forward would return to Real Madrid following his departure.
With Ronaldo gone, this left United with Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani as their attacking options, all forwards with much lower rated in-game profiles than Ronaldo. We also sold Anthony Martial to make this simulation more realistic.
Let's take a look at how United's forwards performed throughout the second half of the 2021/22 season after Ronaldo left in January 2022.
When Ronaldo departed the club, the combined number of goals between each of the United attackers was 15 compared to a combined 40 at the end of the season.
Cavani finished the season as United's top scorer with 14 goals in all competitions, whilst Greenwood stepped up to play in the striker role and grab 11 goals – the second-highest at the club.
Martial also departed the club in January which allowed Amad Diallo to gain some game time, and the youngster grabbed a goal in three starts and 11 appearances.
Due to injuries, Marcus Rashford only played 23 times for United, but he managed the best average rating with 7.34 per game.
Jadon Sancho was also tested in the striker role on occasions by Rangnick, and the Englishman grabbed eight goals and four assists in his first season at the club.
At the end of the 2021/22 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best Man United XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics.
This is what Man United's best XI looked like at the end of the 2021/22 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full United best XI: (4-4-2): De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Shaw; Sancho, Fernandes, McTominay, Pogba; Rashford, Ronaldo.
Despite leaving in the January transfer window, Ronaldo still got into the Man United best XI of the season, with the forward having grabbed 15 goals and managed the best rating in the United squad in all competitions.
Rashford partnered the forward despite making fewer appearances than both Cavani and Greenwood, with the duo only making the bench in the simulated side.
In the end, United picked up more points in the new year after Ronaldo left, despite a poor start to life without the Portugal international.
What do you think would happen to United if Ronaldo left in January? Let us know in the comments section
Rangnick's side struggled in January as the Reds failed to win any of their four league games in the first month of the new year – losing two and drawing two.
United went unbeaten in February before losing to Arsenal and Man City in March and April, but the loss to City was their last of the season, with United going on an eight-game win streak in the league, sending them flying up the table.
So, how did United perform in the league, FA Cup and Champions League after selling Ronaldo in the January transfer window?
Man United's results from the 2021/22 simulation
United lost 5-1 over two legs against Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-finals, with the 3-1 loss at Old Trafford in the second leg confirming their exit from the competition.
United took the lead in the FA Cup fifth round against Spurs through Sancho, but Scott McTominay's early red card was the turning point as Heung-Min Son scored twice in the second half to knock Rangnick's side out.
There was good news for United in the Premier League though, with their perfect run of form in the back-end of the season rewarding the Reds with a third-place finish.
Chelsea ended the season with four straight losses as they finished fifth in the league table, whilst Liverpool pipped Man City to the title.
Interestingly, United earned 36 points after Ronaldo left the club – the exact same number of points they earned in the simulation before he left.
Overall, if Man United were to sell Ronaldo in January, the FM22 prediction shows the striker may not be missed too much, despite his immense goalscoring qualities.
This simulation predicts that Ralf Rangnick's side could pick up a similar points tally to their first half of the season when Ronaldo was at the club, and United also scored more goals in the league without Ronaldo – scoring 29 goals without compared to 25 with.
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