It was a regular sight at the Wanda Metropolitano throughout Man United’s 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo wailing his arms in total exasperation, frustration etched on his face with every decision or an attempted pass that didn’t go his way.
In a game in which not many United players sparkled, the club’s No.7 was arguably among the worst performers of the night. Ronaldo’s tepid display was just the latest in a long line of disappointing performances that even the most ardent Ronaldo fans can no longer afford to ignore.
Ronaldo touched the ball a mere 36 times throughout the game, failed to register a single shot on target, won no aerial challengers and attempted no dribbles. His most significant contribution to the game — aside from the constant complaining — was standing over a free-kick with the usual pre-run up spectacle that he’s become his trademark, before the inevitability of his free-kick landing in row Y, all while Robbie Savage on BT Sport commentary providing cringe-worthy fawning as to whether Ronaldo would score or not.
Yes, you could make a case that Ronaldo was starved of service (and this is true, to an extent), but in 2022, if Ronaldo isn’t scoring goals, what purpose does he serve?
His actual in-game contributions have diminished over the years to such a degree that he only really comes alive inside the penalty box. And even then, that’s even further diminishing.
On several occasions, crosses were fired from either side that Ronaldo didn’t attempt for. In fairness, they were speculative crosses, a little bit too hard and high, but the sheer lack of movement at all from Ronaldo was startling.
If they weren’t directed straight at him, he wasn’t moving.
Contrast this with the last time Ronaldo met Atletico in a Champions League knockout game three years ago, and the difference is stark.
Ronaldo was in his first season at Juventus, and they had to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg in Turin. By sheer force of will, he won the game for Juve almost single-handedly. He scored a hat trick, including two stunning headers, to see Juve through to the quarter-final.
It was arguably the highlight of Ronaldo's time in Italy, and it demonstrated his unyielding confidence in his ability to change games. This radiated to his teammates like Federico Bernadeschi and Leonardo Spinazzola, producing their best performances in black-and-white.
But that Ronaldo no longer exists.
What is now left is a striker who's dining out on the credit he's banked over the past 15 years, someone who's still convinced the masses that he's still an elite-level player.
No doubt, he's still capable of scoring goals, but at the highest levels of the modern era, the act of merely scoring goals is no longer sufficient from a top centre forward. The game demands so much more, precisely all the things that Ronaldo is unwilling or incapable of doing at 37-years-old.
And if Ronaldo isn't scoring goals, he's simply a passenger and a very expensive one at that.
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