It’s official: the EPL has kicked off for 2022 and once again all eyes are on soccer’s leading lights as they vie for victory in this prestigious tournament.

Unfortunately for one famousclub, the Premier League hasn’t been playing out as well as they may have hoped.

Man United struggles to shine

Manchester United suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Brentford on 13 August 2022, preceded by another defeat the week before, when Brighton beat them 2-1.

While Man United did manage to claw their way back to respectability with a win against Liverpool, their current ranking of 14th in the Premier League must come as a bitter disappointment to such a prestigious club.

Also mired in disappointment is the team’s arguably most feted player, Cristiano Ronaldo, who transferred to the club in 2021.

The 37-year-old has been one of football’s most iconic figures for well over a decade, but he was benched for the majority of Man United’s match against Liverpool, only brought on at the 86th minute.

It seems his star is beginning to wane, whether he realises it or not – but at the same time, his ambition remains as keen as ever.

An uncomfortable union

While many young players would no doubt be thrilled to be signed by Man United, even with their current ranking, Ronaldo has made it very clear he wants to leave for greener pastures.

Despite previously scoring 18 goals for Old Trafford, in July 2022 he made an official request to leave his teammates if a “satisfactory offer” should be forthcoming, with the hope of being able to take part in the Champions League.

Unfortunately for Ronaldo, no such offers were made – or none that Ronaldo would countenance. He is rumoured to have received a generous offer from a Saudi Arabian club, and his former Portuguese team also expressed interest, but Ronaldo clearly had his sights set on other more prestigious clubs. These clubs did not return the interest, however.

Among them were the likes of Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, and Bayern Munich, whose transfer chief, HasanSalihamidzic, revealed that the club’s board had voted against taking him on.

The club already has eight players to fill its four forward positions and explained that they wanted to give “playing time” to their current talent. As a result, taking on Ronaldo wouldn’t have made “sporting and financial” sense.

Nowhere to go?

Despite being a 5-time Ballan d’Or winner, with a truly impressive goal-scoring record to his name, it seems the aura of grandeur around Ronaldo is beginning to fade and his colleagues in the professional football world are beginning to feel disillusioned.

In fact, it seems that Ronaldo could soon be left out in the cold, as Manchester United seems to be subtly withdrawing their support for him in turn.

While coach Erik ten Hag has outwardly expressed support for his unruly star, the fact that Ronaldo was benched for so much of the Liverpool match seems to hint that Man United now feels it could be better off without him on the pitch.

Only time will tell whether Ronaldo can find his feet again – or if this is the beginning of the end for one of football’s most iconic – and controversial – players.