Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has said he believed the team could win the Premier League title when Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane joined the club in 2021.
The England international shared his thoughts on Ronaldo’s second spell at Old Trafford during an interview on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast. He also spoke about how things sadly ended for the Portuguese star at the club.
Ronaldo first joined Manchester United in 2003 and became one of the best players in the world under Sir Alex Ferguson. After playing for Real Madrid and Juventus, he made a dramatic return to United in the summer of 2021.
At that time, United had just finished second in the Premier League under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Many fans, including Maguire, thought the team was ready to fight for the title.
“It was amazing to have him,” Maguire said. “Even just seeing him walk through the door was incredible. I can’t say a bad word about him.”
Despite the team’s struggles in the 2021/22 season, where they finished sixth, Ronaldo still scored 24 goals in 38 games.
“We were poor, but he kept scoring. It just shows how good he is,” Maguire said.
He explained that the team under Ole had a clear style — pressing hard and playing aggressively. “We weren’t the best team, but we had a good system. Then Cristiano joined, and we didn’t adapt the way we needed to. You could see he was frustrated.”
Maguire admitted he was hopeful when Ronaldo and Varane arrived. “We had finished second and third, and then we signed those two. You think, ‘Right, now we’ll go and win the league.’ But it just didn’t work. Things never clicked.”
The team struggled, and eventually Ole Gunnar Solskjær lost his job. “That was really disappointing,” Maguire said. “Ole did an amazing job. Those two years were the best I ever felt in a team. I’ll say more about him when I’ve retired.”
He made it clear that Ronaldo wasn’t the problem. “He was by far our best player that season. The tactics around him just didn’t suit.”
Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United in December 2022 after both sides agreed to end his contract early.