Manchester United fans likely were tired of the debate around Cristiano Ronaldo by October last season. Almost every week the legendary attacker would score a dramatic goal to usually bail his team out of trouble.
By logic, a footballer who scores more than he doesn't must be an overwhelmingly positive influence, and that was where part of the debate came in with Ronaldo. How can a player score goals at a team's expense?
However, the argument when factoring in how elite European football is defined by a team's ability to effectively press, the loss without the ball to United when Ronaldo was playing was obvious, on top of a squad that already had flaws within it before the forward's 2021 return.
READ MORE: Todd Boehly must take brave Cristiano Ronaldo decision with Thomas Tuchel Chelsea approach clear
On Monday it was initially reported by The Athletic that Chelsea are considering a move to sign Ronaldo after the 37-year-old informed the club of his desire to depart. Then later on that afternoon, The Telegraph followed it up by stating that co-owner Todd Boehly will ask Thomas Tuchel whether he wants to place a bid for the player this summer, even though Manchester United have stated he is not for sale.
One would suspect that based on Tuchel's previous comments about team unity, the fallout with Romelu Lukaku and the favouring of a more hard-working and mobile attacking system, a move for Ronaldo would be off the table. It is not only the damage Ronaldo could do to Tuchel's hopes of building a squad that can seriously test Manchester City and Liverpool in the coming years. It is also the cultural impact over what that deal would represent.
It would tell the world that Chelsea's new era still was swayed by ego and superstar power. That the instant dopamine hit of Ronaldo's brand was worth jeopardising the "rebuild" Tuchel so publicly said was required this summer.
Theirry Henry summarised the price United paid for re-signing Ronaldo whilst doing punditry for CBS Sport on the Champions League last year.
"'When your poison is your medicine you will struggle", Henry began in a cutting way, a devastatingly beautiful line that boiled down a lot of noise in the debate into nine words.
"You watched the game at the end, Ronaldo saved them [United]." Henry continued. "But when they play, they are exposed sometimes because they don't defend as a unit and we all know if you don't do that, you cannot win games."
Tuchel was as emphatic in a quote he gave in April of 2021 ahead of the summer window where Chelsea £97m on Lukaku over the mentality and environment he wanted to cultivate at Stamford Bridge.
"First of all, we have a very strong group with a strong bond, and this means that we need excellent characters," he said. "That is the most important thing because we have top guys in the dressing room and I won’t allow anybody to ruin that and have a bad influence in there. So we have to be absolutely sure.
“The work ethic, the mentality, the attitude towards training and games is outstanding, and it has to stay like this. There has to stay a strong bond in the dressing room. It’s not like a puzzle where you take out a piece and put the next piece in. This is a complex situation, every transfer market is."
For all the legions of fans Ronaldo attracts and those blockbuster moments in games he produced at Old Trafford throughout last season, his individuality runs counter to what Tuchel has achieved at Chelsea so far.
The Champions League win wasn't based on one player lifting the whole team, it was about a collective unit coming together to create a dominant team who achieved something extraordinary in a short period of time. Some of the best performances in 2021/22 reflected the same: the win at Leicester and at home to Juventus. The performance at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid.
There will always be excuses made for the short-term instinctive signing. There will always be the natural temptation of the ultimate superstar signing for American owners looking to make a statement. Though the bigger, and healthier statement Boehly and Tuchel could make, is starting to change the culture and following the path Tuchel began in 2021.
READ NEXT:
Jules Kounde transfer saga set to continue for Chelsea as the Blues face Matthijs de Ligt battle
Cristiano Ronaldo, Matthijs de Ligt - Chelsea transfers must solve forgotten Thomas Tuchel issue
Raheem Sterling £45m Chelsea signing opens door for Thomas Tuchel to answer Bayern question
Todd Boehly sent £56m release clause ultimatum as Chelsea plot dream Christopher Nkunku transfer
Todd Boehly must take brave Cristiano Ronaldo decision with Thomas Tuchel Chelsea approach clear
