Comparing Manchester United’s record with and without Cristiano Ronaldo

In August 2021, Cristiano Ronaldo stunned the footballing world by returning to Manchester United for a second spell.

United finished second in the Premier League in 2020-21 and Ronaldo’s arrival saw them tipped as potential title challengers.

The forward scored four goals in his first three appearances, but things soon went downhill as the club suffered embarrassing defeats against Liverpool, Leicester City and Watford before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked.

Interim manager Ralf Rangnick was hired to turn things around but failed to make much of an impact during his brief spell at Old Trafford. United finished the campaign with their lowest ever Premier League points total, picking up just 58 points from 38 games.

Despite Ronaldo's impressive goal contribution, some pundits have suggested that the team actually suffered as a direct result of him returning.

“'Where would United be without his goals,' is something you often hear,” former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher wrote in a Daily Telegraph column.

“Well, we already have an answer to that. United scored 121 in all competitions in 2020-21, their highest tally for 14 years, That is because they were a more balanced, unified team than now."

But Ronaldo’s supporters will point out that he was United’s top scorer last season with 24 goals and was the only United player to be named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.

The Portugal international often single-handedly won United matches with his goals, netting seven match-winners in the Premier League and two in the Champions League.

“Are United a stronger team without him?,” Rio Ferdinand told The Daily Mirror back in March. “I cannot agree with that at all. If he was not playing with Man Utd then they would have gone out in the [Champions League] group stage.

“A player with his ability and his talent, who is as decisive as he is, who has shown it over the years - and this season - that he can make the difference.

“Manchester United are not a team who are in the position to think, ‘OK, we are too good to have someone like that in our team’.”

Ronaldo has one year left on his United contract but reportedly wants to leave Old Trafford before the end of the current transfer window.

He missed United’s pre-season tour of Thailand, Australia and Norway due to personal reasons and watched on as Jadon Sancho, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford all impressed.

Ronaldo recently caused some controversy by leaving Old Trafford before the end of their pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano, something new boss Erik ten Hag has since labelled 'unacceptable'.

But would United actually be better off without the Portugal international?

We’ve taken a look at United’s record with Ronaldo in the starting XI and compared it to their record without him since the start of the 2021-22 season. Note: we’ve not included any unofficial games like pre-season friendlies.

 

With Cristiano Ronaldo starting

Games: 35

Wins: 17

Draws: 7

Defeats: 11

Points per game: 1.65

Win rate: 48.5%

Loss rate: 31.4%

 

Goals: 55

Goals per game: 1.57

Goals against: 50

Goals against per game: 1.42

 

Without Cristiano Ronaldo starting

Games: 14

Wins: 3

Draws: 7

Defeats: 4

Points per game: 1.14

Win rate: 21.4%

Loss rate: 28.5%

 

Goals: 16

Goals per game: 1.14

Goals against: 19

Goals against per game: 1.35

 

As the stats show, United average more points per game and have a much better win rate with Ronaldo in the team.

The Red Devils unsurprisingly had more of a goal threat when the 37-year-old was on the pitch and their goals per game record got worse when he didn’t start.

Admittedly, United’s loss rate is lower and their defensive record is better when Ronaldo is named on the bench or left out of the matchday squad but there’s only a slight difference.