Harry Maguire speaks out on Cristiano Ronaldo's 'disappointing' second spell at Man Utd as he admits 'we couldn’t find a way to perform with him in the team'

Many United fans initially dared to dream that Ronaldo’s return would spark a title challenge. The Portuguese icon did his part by netting 18 Premier League goals in 2021-22, but United ultimately stumbled to a sixth-place finish in a miserable season that saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sacked and interim boss Ralf Rangnick fail to steady the ship.

Ronaldo, ever the perfectionist, reportedly grew frustrated with the team’s performances and the inability to adapt their high-pressing system to his strengths. When Erik ten Hag arrived as United's new permanent coach in 2022, the cracks widened, and Ronaldo fell out of favour. The breaking point came when Ronaldo’s bombshell interview with Piers Morgan aired, pulling no punches on his dissatisfaction with the club’s direction. After that, the relationship reached a point of no return, and the striker's contract was terminated by mutual consent.

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents, Maguire expressed his admiration towards Ronaldo while admitting United failed to build a cohesive system around the club legend. "I can’t speak a bad word about him. It was amazing to have him. When he walked through the door, it was just incredible. It was just so disappointing how it ended and how we couldn’t find a way to perform with him in the team," he said. "He was performing, he was scoring goals, it was crazy. We were rubbish and he was still scoring goals, so it just shows how good he is.

"We just couldn’t find a way to… all our system under Ole was about being on the front foot, being aggressive. Pressing, it was like a pressing machine. And obviously Cristiano came in and we just didn’t adapt well enough for him, and you could just tell he was so upset and frustrated."

Ruben Amorim replaced Ten Hag in the Old Trafford dugout in October, but the Portuguese manager was also unable to turn the club's fortunes around as United slumped to a 15th-place league finish last season. However, United's hierarchy has backed Amorim with a full summer transfer window, promising a squad more in tune with his tactical ideas. The new campaign offers a clean slate. United open against Arsenal at Old Trafford on August 17 in a high-voltage fixture that could set the tone for Amorim’s second season.