Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United at the start of the season promising to restore the glory of the English Premier League giant, but after six months, the veteran striker failed to make a clear mark as his level continued to decline and the club's suffering continued.

And things started wonderfully for the Portuguese striker after he returned to the club with which he won 8 major titles during the period 2003-2009.

At the start of the season, Ronaldo scored impressive goals near the end of the Champions League at Old Trafford against Atalanta and Villarreal, and had the huge support of the fans, as the 37-year-old showed no signs of age.

Ronaldo and 6 games without a goal

But the scoring stopped completely, and Ronaldo failed to score any goal in the last 6 matches in all competitions, and this is the longest period he has not scored at club level since that happened in 7 matches between December 2008 and January 2009.

And when he fails to score, the historical Champions League top scorer does not provide a great addition, as he does not press with the necessary force on defenders despite working under the leadership of a coach famous for his love of advanced pressure, which negatively affects the team from a defensive point of view.

United's suffering was repeated against Southampton in the league today, Saturday, as he started wonderfully and created many chances, as happened in the last two matches against Middlesbrough and Burnley, and then his level declined sharply.

Jadon Sancho scored the first goal in the first half, but United paid the price of missed easy opportunities and Southampton drew 1-1.

And against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, Ronaldo missed a penalty kick, in addition to having 9 attempts on goal without scoring.

Ronaldo failed to score from a position in which he used to score opponents against Burnley, and then missed an easy opportunity against Southampton in the first half, because he did not kick the ball hard after dribbling the goalkeeper, which made the defender succeed in preventing it from entering the goal.

Ronaldo qui crache sur son coéquipier, Ronaldo qui a 0 G/A en 2022 en 6 matchs et maintenant Ronaldo qui rate ça, t'es finito mon pote pic.twitter.com/2s3cH7tJiT

— ✒️ Pepinho 💫⚽️ (@roms7777) February 12, 2022

Rangnick justifies

"He would have liked to score and me too," said United interim coach Ralf Rangnick. "Today he had a chance, his attempt went off the line, and he had some good moments in the second half."

"Again, it's not about Cristiano, it's about the whole team. We created enough chances, but we couldn't score, and that's a big problem."

And Rangnick faces another problem, which is how to deal with Ronaldo, who is far from his level and who insists on always being at the center of events.

And when the Portuguese star rarely leaves any match, the cameras turn towards him, as the paparazzi realize that he will not accept the matter easily, and does not control himself, as he makes interceptive movements and utters angry words in front of everyone.

After being substituted against Brentford last January, and despite United comfortably leading, he was not at all happy and entered into an argument with Rangnick on the bench.

It has not been replaced since then.

Rangnick decided to keep Ronaldo on the field against Southampton, perhaps fearing more pressure, but when taking into account the player's suffering, such a change might have had a positive effect.

British reports indicated that Ronaldo may leave at the end of the current season, despite having a two-year contract.

Perhaps if Ronaldo leaves early, the club's marketing department will be affected, but with his level declining and the difficulty of restoring what the fast winger provided 15 years ago, this move may be the most appropriate for both parties.

Some reports linked Ronaldo to a move to Paris Saint-Germain, which includes a constellation of the best world stars, led by his rival Lionel Messi.