Second debut delight to a destroyed legacy? How Cristiano Ronaldo's second Man Utd spell ended in disaster

The prospect of Ronaldo joining fierce rivals Manchester City late in the 2021 summer transfer window and then firing them to domestic and possibly European glory put the fear into the head honchos at Manchester United.

They jumped into action amid reports that their former star could soon be sporting the blue jersey of their city rivals and made sure to lure him back to Old Trafford.

United agreed to pay almost £13 million up front to Juventus and signed Ronaldo to a two-year contract with an option for a third.

And so it was. Over 12 years after he first departed for Real Madrid, the man who helped United to three Premier League titles and a Champions League crown was back.

What a way to mark your return! Ronaldo grabbed all the headlines in his first game back for the Red Devils.

United had looked good in their first three matches of the season, but there was a feeling that Ronaldo would add some much-needed firepower to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team.

He appeared to prove that notion spot on when he struck in first-half stoppage time to give United a 1-0 lead against Newcastle in his first game back.

It may have been a tap-in but there was much more to come from the attacker, who came to his team's rescue just six minutes after Newcastle pulled level by restoring United's lead.

United went on to win 4-1 at Old Trafford, giving their fans belief that something magical could happen that season.

Ronaldo also opened the scoring just a few days later as United began their Champions League campaign.

They were supposed to make easy work of a trip to Switzerland to take on Young Boys, and that seemed to be the case when Ronaldo broke the deadlock just 13 minutes in.

The home team fought back, though, and pulled level just before Ronaldo was substituted in the second half.

The former Real Madrid star could only watch on from the sidelines as Young Boys scored a late winner to upset his side and prove that there was still much to be done to get the Premier League side back on top of domestic and continental football.

United recovered from their underwhelming start to the Champions League campaign and Ronaldo was at the heart of it.

Their second match in the tournament came against Villarreal and Solskjaer's team were shaky again as they fell behind.

Alex Telles pulled United level, though, and just as it seemed like the game was heading for a draw, Ronaldo popped up with a winner deep into injury time.

That was no one-off, though, as United found themselves 2-0 down at half-time in their following Champions League match - against Atalanta at Old Trafford.

Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire brought them back on even terms before Ronaldo headed in another late goal to secure a 3-2 win.

That's not all!

They took on Atalanta again a couple of weeks later and yet another thriller ended with Ronaldo nipping in with a decisive goal in stoppage time to equalise for his side and earn a 2-2 draw.

And in the next game?

You guessed it! Ronaldo struck once more in the 78th minute to put United 1-0 up against Villarreal before Jadon Sancho added another in the dying minutes of the match to seal their qualification for the knockout stages.

Despite the presence of Ronaldo and United's bright displays in the Champions League, their woeful Premier League results resulted in the sacking of Solskjaer.

Michael Carrick temporarily stepped into the hotseat and was off to a good start as his side beat Villarreal and drew with Chelsea.

United could not afford to slip up in Carrick's third and final game, though, as they took on rivals for a top-four finish Arsenal on December 2.

Luckily, they had Ronaldo to count on.

It was a nervy affair as Emile Smith Rowe put the visitors ahead just 13 minutes in at Old Trafford, only to see Bruno Fernandes get the equaliser before the break.

Ronaldo was there to put his side in the lead with his 800th career goal, but the home team were made to worry once again as Martin Odegaard levelled.

Ronaldo did not stumble when the pressure was on him later on, though, as he stepped up to convert a penalty and secure a vital 3-2 win for United.

The five-time Champions League winner's goalscoring exploits for United obviously helped them stay in European contention and the fight for a top-four finish in the Premier League.

However, all was not well at Old Trafford, as Ralf Rangnick was brought in to revolutionise the Red Devils.

Ronaldo's place in the team came under fire, as many suggested he would not be able to adapt to the high-pressing style that the new German coach was supposed to implement.

Signs of things unravelling between Ronaldo and Rangnick started to appear in January, as he was substituted during the 3-1 win at Brentford, throwing his jacket on the floor and muttering: "Why me? Why me ... Why would you take me off?"

To make matters worse, the goals dried up as he went on his longest drought since 2009, failing to find the net in six straight matches.

"He’s walking off down the tunnel and throwing his toys out the pram. For me that’s a bad example," former United star Paul Ince said in February.

A couple of months later, Ronaldo was involved in a controversial incident when United were beaten 1-0 by Everton. The iconic forward lashed out at an Everton fan and was accused of smashing his phone as he stormed off the pitch, resulting in him being cautioned by the police months later.

United were pushing for a place in the Champions League places when Tottenham came to visit in March.

Again, three points were vital for the Red Devils.

Having just been demolished 4-1 by Manchester City the previous week - a game Ronaldo missed through injury - Rangnick's team feared that a slip up against Antonio Conte's men would severely hinder their hopes of a top-four finish.

That's why you need a big-game player like CR7.

He gave the home team something to cheer about after just 12 minutes when he sent the ball sailing into the top corner from distance for his 10th Premier League goal of the season.

A Harry Kane penalty levelled matters later in the half, but within three minutes Ronaldo was perfectly placed to meet a low cross and put his side ahead again.

Team-mate Harry Maguire put the ball into his own net in the second half to give Spurs a chance of earning a point, but that man Ronaldo saw to it once again that his side took the three points with an excellent header into the top corner.

It was a performance so inspirational that legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady, who was in attendance at Old Trafford, was inspired to reverse his decision to retire from the sport.

United's top-four hopes were hanging by a thread by the time they welcomed Norwich to Old Trafford in April.

Rangnick's men were seventh in the table and six points behind Tottenham, who held the last Champions League spot.

They were not down and out yet, but needed to beat Norwich to stay in the fight.

The Canaries, on the other hand, were struggling at the bottom of the table, so it was a big surprise when they managed to cancel out Ronaldo's two first-half goals to make it 2-2 in the second half.

Sure enough, Ronaldo was on hand to complete a hat-trick by sending a free-kick beyond Tim Krul and secure three vital points.

United's season ended in misery. They crashed out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage and failed to secure a place in the competition for the next campaign by finishing in the top four of the Premier League.

They called on Erik ten Hag to lead the rebuild for the 2022-23 campaign and, once again, the introduction of a new coach sparked claims that Ronaldo would not be part of the future.

This time, though, Ronaldo got ahead of the narrative and made it clear to the club that he wanted to leave.

Determined to play in the Champions League, it seemed United just weren't good enough for him. Not vice versa.

But where could he go? A return to Juventus would be pointless, Real Madrid did not want him back, while the other possible destinations touted did not work out either, as Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid all seemed disinterested.

He missed almost the entirety of United's pre-season preparations because the club gave him time off to deal with personal issues and the belief was that he had played his last game for them.

In the end, Ronaldo was still at United when the summer transfer window closed and he wasn't happy about it.

The new season began in horrendous fashion for Ten Hag's team.

Brighton beat them 2-1 in their first game and then Brentford demolished them 4-0 the following week. Ronaldo played in both matches and his apparent unhappiness and the uncertainty around his future lingered around the club.

United bounced back by beating Liverpool in week three, followed by victories against Southampton, Leicester and Arsenal, but Ronaldo barely played a part in those matches.

It was clear that Ten Hag's team could survive without him and were, perhaps, even better off without him.

Despite his match-winning and milestone goal against Everton in October, Ronaldo continued to have a hard time at Old Trafford.

He started from the bench in most Premier League matches and was only given a regular starting spot in the Europa League as his relationship with the club continued to break down.

Things began approaching boiling point during 2-0 win against Tottenham in October when he walked down the tunnel in a huff before the end of the match.

Ten Hag later revealed that he had asked the veteran to get ready to come on as a substitute in the match but he refused, resulting in him being dropped him from the team for the game against Chelsea the following week.

Then, it all came to a head on November 13.

Ronaldo dropped a bombshell on United and Ten Hag when a wild interview with Piers Morgan was published that Sunday evening.

"I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me," Ronaldo said of the Dutch coach. "If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never gonna have respect for you."

That wasn't all. The Euro 2016 winner spoke of feeling "betrayed" by United and had a pop at the owners, the Glazer family, saying that they "don't care about the club".

After such vitriol from their once-beloved star, United ended up tearing down an image of him outside of Old Trafford.

There was surely no way back from Ronaldo at United and sure enough he has been granted the departure that he wanted several months ago.

It was no surprise when United confirmed on Tuesday that the attacker's contract has been terminated by mutual consent and now the club have time to resettle over the course of the World Cup before they return to domestic action at the end of December.

Ten Hag will feel better to have offloaded the now troublesome figure from his team, while Ronaldo will look for his next move to prove that he still has something to add to a top club after such a topsy-turvy year and a half.