Manchester United: Would you swap Ronaldo for Ronaldinho?
Barcelona’s and Real Madrid’s interest in Ronaldo is to be expected - after all, Ronny grew up watching these two clubs and dreaming to play for them. These two are also the only clubs that could pry Ronaldo away from Manchester United (although Milan or Inter could, in a couple of years, be an option as well).
Barca and Real both have the cash to meet Manchester United’s evaluation of Cristiano Ronaldo (30-35 mil) and all hinges on the combined abilities of Quieroz and Ferguson to convince Ronaldo that United is a better place for him.
Come to think of it, why are we even bothering with this? Ronaldo’s actions post-World Cup were a direct consequence of the lambasting he received from the English media, not a problem with Manchester United. The player is happy at Old Trafford, he’s got friends here and he’s settled in quite well into Ferguson’s system.
Ronaldo’s 21, not 61, that he’d be bothered with the weather. He’s also much stronger in spirit than Reyes.
One thing Ronaldo definitely has is extreme ambition, so I expect him to want to leave Manchester United if we don’t win trophies in the next couple of years. But then again, that’s the case with all stars - you’d be hearing grumbling about Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney as well if Manchester United were stuck in 2nd or 3rd place again this season.
Why the fixation with Ronaldo? Top form this season, plus what happened post-World Cup. Both Barca and Real will play on Ronaldo’s desire to play in Spain (similar to Rossi’s wish to play in Italy), but they should also know that it won’t happen anytime soon.
And not in the next 10 years, if Ferguson can help it.
So…would you swap Ronaldo for Ronaldinho?
- Ronaldo vs Ronaldinho / Manchester United vs Barcelona
- No Mascherano, No Simao, and definitely no Ruud swap for Carrick
- Ronaldinho, Zambrotta, Puyol and Thuram coming to Manchester United
- Ronaldinho, Chelsea and Barcelona
- Manchester United Transfer News Update
Discussion - 26 Responses
Add Your Comment
Comments are moderated (our comments policy).











I’d rather have both….
No, I wouldnt swap him, he is the future. Ronaldinho is not a has-been but might in a few years loose that omnipotent touch and presence he possess at the moment. Ronaldo wont stay at Manchester United for the rest of his carrer, but I truly hope that United, being the club that realised his full potential, will be the one who reaps the benefit of Ronaldo at the very peak of his powers. If that is to happend we will have to cling on to him for the next 3-4 seasons.
An honest answer is no, not after the potential he has shown this year and the lack of spirit, for want of a better word, that seems to be a problem for Ronaldinho who is, in my opinion, the perfect example of a ‘confidence’ player. I just couldn’t see him going through a situation like Ranaldo has endured let alone becoming twice the player for it. That has just shown Ronaldo to be in a class of his own. He is already the best player on this Planet. He grew up very quick indeed!
No,Ronaldinho will certainly take time to adapt to the English game…besides United needs more of Ronaldo wingplay rather than the Bucktooth centralised dribbling play;we do have Scholes and Carrick for that killer pass and rocket shot from the centre…
Having the brazilian could change the formation to accomodate him,but as in the case of Seba,that might not always work out…
Anyway,Ronaldo could be sold all the same,then we just need to find another winger,i’m sure few of those dutch or south american starlet will explode in the next few years…
Then,we’ll just have to grab,same as we did Ronaldo from Sporting…
Not much of a worry when we still have SAF…
No I would not to be honest! Ronaldo has ten years left, Dinho 5 if he’s lucky! at least Cristiano came to Man utd , Dinho went to Barca at the last minute, should have come to Man Utd, but I really can’t see either player leaving for a while! Real - where are you Galatico’s now hey! Chelsea - who have you bought that compares to Rooney, Ronaldo or even Larsson!
errrrr…..NO!
NO!!!
As much as I admire him, it is not guarenteed that Ronaldinho will adapt to the PL. I would love to see Ronaldinho (and Messi) at OT though.
Perhaps when Ronaldo gets bored or un-settled with life at OT, SAF could consider a swap-loan of perhaps a season with Barca for either. Maybe that will keep everybody happy.
While I wouldn’t want swap the two either, there are two flaws with your argument:
1) A ‘confidence’ player - that term is bullshit. When a player is short of confidence he underperforms, that’s expected. Consistency in performance is the domain of the lucky few, and even then they are susceptible to fatigue. Ronaldinho is no more a confidence player than Ronaldo, and he shows as much spirit as Ronny as well - you just have to see how he gets back up smiling after every two-footed tackle.
2) ‘lack of spirit’ - Ronaldinho, as Rijkaard said, had played two straight years (2004/2005, Confederations Cup, 2005/2006, World Cup), and he was dead tired. He was rested, eased back into form and is almost back to his best. Losing Eto will cause problems for any team - you think Saha plays better if Rooney isn’t around? And still, Ronaldinho has played great this season.
I wouldn’t swap em cuz of age, other than that they’re both top-class players and Ronaldinho will definitely fit in at Old Trafford - otherwise why would Fergie have been willing to splash 20m on him?
And about Ronny going to Barca - Kenyon scuppered the deal by not agreeing to pay enough money, Real wouldn’t buy him because he wasn’t good looking, and Barca remained as the only big team with the money to buy him.
“and Ronaldinho will definitely fit in at Old Trafford - otherwise why would Fergie have been willing to splash 20m on him?”
There’s a flaw in this argument, too. Fergie was willing to splash 28m on Veron…
Definatley rather have ronaldo, however dont see why we cant try and lure ronaldinho in the summer ?
” Real wouldn’t buy him because he wasn’t good looking ”
HAHA!! thats a good one Ahmed…
Well either way,both are superb,one is young,the other old though…Ronaldo wins Yay
NO!
i’m tired of hearing C-Ron’s name now…honestly, it won’t matter to me whether he leaves or stays…Man Utd has always had great players leave, but we do fine…i’m more interested in how committed the players r to the team…and what’s the deal with the climate being the reason C-Ron wonna leave for Spain?…Ronaldinho!!!…didn’t he already turn Man Utd down in the end, using “climate” as a reason, after using the team to raise his market value in the summer of 2003 or so..?..he needs not be at Man Utd…i ma take ma chance with C-Ron, even though it won’t make me any less of a supporter if he leaves…long live Man Utd…Kina, NYC.
i wouldn’t swap ronaldo for any other player in the world, the kid is going places and i want him to carry man utd with him! you can’t even begin to compare ronaldo’s form to ronny’s for barca, it’s been as different as chalk and cheese. i’d say we’d cope even if he left (we’ve been in pretty rude health post-ruud!), but it’s always nice to have a crowd pleaser like ronaldo stay.
ronaldinho is a dribbling wizard,free kick specialist,finest ball passer,and best crosser of the ball who with his poor form has a tally of 14 goals equivalent to cristiano’s.so you can’t compare a cat to a tiger(dinho)
Ahmed, I don’t believe you have written that stuff! TIRED!! My god, Rooney is tired, Gerrard is tired, infact the whole England sqaud has constantly used the ‘tired’ angle. Ronaldo has played week in week out for club and country almost from the day he came to OT. He has been kicked, choped down, abused by player, pundit and fan alike, most certainly has had many drops in confidence and to cap the whole lot lost his dad!!!! But what he has done is quite remarkable. He has picked himself up from everything this World has thrown at him and just used the set-backs to spur him on to another level. This shows the making of a true great. Ronaldinho has played a couple of great seasons for his club. Remember, before United became embroyled in that bidding war for Ronahldino (who only played for PSG by the way despite an ‘OK’ World Cup in 2002) his price was only around the £10 million mark and that at a time when prices were really inflated. He has also shown in his reaction on the pitch (and off) that he gets stressed, upset and then tends to disapear from the game. It was that United great Larsson who lifted Barcelona last year against Arsenal. Ronahldino had been played out of the game and looked a sad frustrated figure at times. That has continued through to this year. Yes, people are saying he is improving but no where near enough at the moment! Maybe the poor dear is still tired?
Oh yeah, I forgot. This is the first season Ronaldo has had the privelige of playing with a fairly consistently fit United squad. In other words he has not relied on other players to make his game. That’s the Eto’o theory out of the window for you! Cor! The more I read your posting…Ronaldinho was ‘eased’ back into form!!?? He’s taken nearly a full bloody season to be ‘eased back into form’ and it is NOT anywhere near the levels he reached on first joining Barca, when everyone loved him, he was on top of the World and just oozing confidence… I rest my case!
Now, would you swap Ronaldo with Gerrard and £20m ?
I wouldn’t want to see Ronaldo go anywhere - full stop. But…if he wants to go, I would go for a straight swap with Ronaldinho (plus a few mil maybe - time is on Christianos side). Buy Lennon from Spurs for whatever it takes and make sure we get Hargreaves. Ronaldinho is class, there is no doubt in my mind he could cope with the Premiership, anyway you do not sign players like him just to win domestic trophies…it’s the CL where these players really make a difference. Lennon would give us the pace and skill out on the right (or left) - he’s not Ronaldo, but if Ronnie went he would be my preferred option. Hargreaves would be a very good foil for Ronaldinho - his ball-winner / water carrier. This is just a preferred option if Ronnie wanted to go, I would rather watch Ronnie than Ronaldinho.
Ryan, Ronaldinho is the best player of his generation. It’s not possible for player like that to fail. Veron wasn’t
“Ronaldinho is the best player of his generation. It’s not possible for player like that to fail.Veron wasn’t”
Well,Sheva was deemed the best striker of this generation…we all know now how its goin for em at Chelski…
Other hand,Henry became the star…
Point is,the game has evolved in such a way that theres no way for any star players to prove sure hit nowadays…
If only are very big words in football…
15 goals and not 12….all the same
think about it because DEATH IS FAR DIFFERENT TO SLEEP, THEY ARE NOT COMPAREABLE
This is the season would have scored 16 goals in 23 matches since he has been in Barcelona. 2003/04 season: 15 goals in 32 matches
2004/05 season: 17 goals in 29 matches
2005/06 season: 9 goals in 35 matches
2006/07 season: 16 goals in 19 matches
NO BE SMALL MATTER lol
P. Ronnie (Pappy Ronaldinho)
c.ronaldo is da best player in da world and is unswobable for any existing player on this planet, so all this bullshit about him moving you can forget it because its not going to happen UNDERSTAND.
RONALDO ALL THE WAY! But I wouldn’t mind both
no, i would’nt really but if barcelona manger can buy him that would be better? but its there choice.i dont think the man utd players would not swap him or like to sell him