Strengthened by Ronaldo, Manchester United Are Still Not as Strong as Their Rivals

DBasia.news – Manchester United made a surprise transfer ahead of the final deadline of the summer transfer window. Had been linked with Juventus megastar Manchester City, Cristiano Ronaldo finally chose to return to United.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner returns to Old Trafford after 12 years. Ronaldo (36 years) reportedly signed a two-year contract with a total tag of 20 million euros. Ronaldo is United’s third signing after Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane.

However, football pundit and United legend Gary Neville hopes that fans will not immediately have high expectations with the arrival of the winner of three Premier League titles with the Red Devils.

Different from Ronaldo’s first spell at United when he was coached by Sir Alex Ferguson and the team was still dominant, the Premier League is now different and rival teams are getting stronger.

Manchester City who are increasingly diligent in winning the Premier League and stronger with Pep Guardiola, Chelsea who won the Champions League last season, and Liverpool who won the league and Champions League with Jurgen Klopp.

“In years past, I might have said this Manchester United team would have won the Premier League by 10 points but the Premier League at the moment is very strong,” Neville told Sky Sports.

“I made a prediction on Monday Night Football that it would (end) Manchester City, Chelsea and (later) Manchester United and I’m not going to change that because I don’t think Ronaldo’s arrival makes them a better team than Chelsea, who are league champions. Champions last season, and Manchester City, who are 20 points clear.”

“Of course it brings them closer to winning the title. Do I think they will win the title this season?”

“No, I don’t think so, but now I’m more excited about Manchester United being a contender for the title than I was maybe five or six days ago.”

Neville but hopes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United will now have the mentality to compete for the Premier League title, especially with the arrivals of Ronaldo and Varane after their second big success at Real Madrid.

“Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane will have the mentality to win titles. I really want them to win the title. Do I think they will win the title this season? No. I’m just being pragmatic,” Neville added.

“You have to support these players if you are Manchester United. Whether it wins you the title or not I’m not sure. It gives them a much better chance than they had 48 hours ago.”