No man is bigger than the club

We have seen time and again at Old Trafford that no man is bigger than the club. Players have come and gone and it’s been clear that there’s no room for egos. The only ego that counts and is allowed is Sir Alex Ferguson’s. Ferguson has said that Manchester United is a phenomenon that is bigger than one man.

To the United cult whatever he says or does, as the leader, goes. When he came to United in November 1986 he found a squad full of ill-disciplined and unfit players. He started his clearout in 1987 and by the summer of 1991 he had built the team he really wanted and went on to dominate English football for almost two decades.

United losing Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid is not something new. In the summer of 2003 we were told that we will never replace the crossing and dead-ball expertise of David Beckham but then a few weeks later in came a certain Portuguese starlet who for 29 minutes terrorised the Bolton defence in the league opener of the 2003-04 season. We were told we could never replace the goals of Van Nistelrooy or the hard work and drive of Roy Keane, but every time the players brought in as replacements have risen to the occasion. The sale of Ronaldo also makes business sense. He came in for £12.8 million and sold for £80 million. It’s a profit of more than £58 million. It’s a very health profit considering that the Glazers also have to service the debt they incurred when they took control of the club in 2005.

Of course as the fans and the club we miss the players but then it’s always for a short while. We find a suitable replacement who can do the job. No player has managed to shape the face of English football like Ronaldo did in the past two seasons, scare opposition defences, be equally comfortable when shooting with either foot and score forty-metre free kicks. Ferguson knew the time was right to sell Ronaldo, a player he bought as a raw talent from Sporting Lisbon and transformed him into the best player in the world and one of the best to grace the Premier League in recent times. Ferguson’s attention will be turned to finding a suitable replacement and there are a few that spring to mind like Franck Ribery at Bayern Munchen, Karim Benzema at Lyon and David Silva at Valencia. So far the club has already captured Antonio Valencia who can play either on the right or left side of midfield. This could also give a chance to some of the youngsters to shine like Nani and Zoran Tosic.

Will Ronaldo rise to the occasion like he did at Manchester United? Time will tell. But from the Manchester United Fans we will say goodbye and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.