What did Bayern see?
This isn’t the first time Bayern have rejected the idea of signing Ronaldo. When the player originally moved from
Real Madrid to Juventus for an eyewatering 100m euro transfer fee, then CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
commented that “Bayern would have never done such a thing.”
Back then, this statement was met with much derision from the CR7 and Juventus fanbases, but KHR proved correct in his assessment. Despite breaking the bank on Ronaldo, the Old Lady actually saw their performances decline in the following seasons, especially in Europe. Even with Ronaldo scoring regularly for them, something was amiss at Juve and they failed to reach their heights from the 2015-2018 years.
Following Juventus, Ronaldo’s return to Man United was not a happy one. Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images
The same happened when he moved back to Man United. A promising project under coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer quickly turned sour a few months after Ronaldo’s arrival, despite the Portuguese superstar still contributing on the scorer’s sheet. Like with Max Allegri, Maurizio Sarri, and Andrea Pirlo before him, Solskjaer became the fourth consecutive coach to be sacked by his club after coaching Ronaldo.
You could point to the systemic issues plaguing both these clubs as the real reason for their coaches’ downfall, and you would be correct. However, signing and playing the modern day version of CR7 is a symptom of those systemic issues. Ronaldo brings a rot to any current-day team, and clubs who cannot see that meet their demise very quickly.
There is a reason why no big, UCL-caliber team came for Ronaldo this summer. Well-run teams like Bayern Munich,
Manchester City, and Real Madrid see no role for a 37-year-old specialist goalscorer who doesn’t work off the ball and can’t press. There’s a reason why Ten Hag’s “new look” United team has no space for Ronaldo, despite utilizing frankly mediocre players like Antony Martial and Marcus Rashford.
Modern day football is about roles and profiles, not superstars. Bayern Munich recognize this and act accordingly in the transfer market. It’s not like the current board is averse to spending, they greenlit a €76m spend on Matthijs de Ligt this summer despite already having the Dayot Upamecano (€40m) and Lucas Hernandez (€80m) on the squad already.
It’s clear that the game has passed Ronaldo by. He’s no longer your key to winning the big trophies, and don’t be surprised to see him retire or go to MLS in the coming weeks. Or maybe
Borussia Dortmund could take a punt on him? Now that would cause the kind of delicious chaos we’d appreciate.