The discourse surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo at Man United is divided. Sure, he's the best player to ever wear a Man United shirt, but is he the best Man United player ever? No, not even close.
The key distinction there is that while Ronaldo is obviously an all-time great, he didn't spend a long enough amount of time compared to other Man United legends. Instead, he's mostly remembered for his time at Real Madrid, and understandably so.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the biggest "what if" stories at Man United. What if, after leaving Sporting, he stayed at Man United for his entire career? That would be some legacy, right?
But it didn't happen that way, Cristiano Ronaldo left Man United twice, here's why:
Why Cristiano Ronaldo left Man United the first time
Cristiano Ronaldo originally left Man United in 2009, to join Real Madrid. At the time, he became the most expensive transfer ever.
What fans might not have remembered is that Real Madrid came calling before 2009. It was Sir Alex Ferguson who convinced Cristiano Ronaldo to stay for one more year when Los Blancos originally came knocking in 2008.
The reason why Cristiano Ronaldo left Man United the first time is simple: it was to Real Madrid. Not much more needs to be said there, they're the best club in the world and the dream destination for most players.
Indeed, it was no different for Cristiano Ronaldo. Growing up, he always had an admiration to play for Real Madrid, which was even confirmed by none other than Sir Alex Ferguson.
In his own words, Sir Alex said: "[Ronaldo] always had a hankering to go to Real Madrid at some point in his career and we helped him on that way."
Why Cristiano Ronaldo left Man United the second time
This is where the real juice is. Cristiano Ronaldo came back to Man United to complete the fairytale but if anything, left fans wishing he never came back... through no fault of his own, of course.
See, Ronaldo and then-manager Erik ten Hag didn't see eye to eye. There was a power conflict between them both, as neither could surrender power to the other party. It was merely a conflict of interest, and in the end, Erik ten Hag made the call that the relationship wasn't worth repairing.
The power conflict is what fans saw, but it stemmed from an even more obvious reason: Cristiano Ronaldo wasn't being played in his second stint at Man United. More often than not, he was used on the bench, and he was clearly disgruntled with the reduced role.
Speaking at the time of the conflict, Erik ten Hag said: “I am the manager, I am responsible for the top sport culture here and I have to set standards and values and I have to control them,”
Ultimately, Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al Nassr, where he became a poster boy for the emerging Saudi Pro League. Ronaldo has never really looked back to the toxic second stint at Man United.