Cristiano Ronaldo shook the football world when he announced his return to Manchester United in September 2021, but his second spell at Old Trafford did not have a good outcome.
The Portuguese striker delivered goals and assists as many expected. Despite this, the team struggled to compete – and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lost his job before Christmas.
Ronaldo finished as the Premier League’s third-highest scorer that season with 18 goals. He also picked up two Player of the Month awards and notched two hat-tricks, more than any other player in the league that year.
He also chipped in with six goals from seven Champions League appearances during that campaign.
The 2021/22 season fell well short of expectations for United supporters. Solskjaer was fired in November, and the Red Devils made the controversial decision to appoint Ralf Rangnick as interim coach.
In the following season, the Austrian manager was replaced by Erik ten Hag. However, the Dutch coach was not Ronaldo’s preferred choice for the job. Rumours suggested he wanted one of the standout names of the time.
Luis Enrique was Cristiano Ronaldo’s first choice to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Manchester United were convinced that Ten Hag was the right man for the job in 2022.
The Dutchman was hired and brought some of his favourite players from Ajax with him, including Antony and Lisandro Martinez.
Reports at the time suggested that Cristiano Ronaldo wanted United to hire Luis Enrique, who has since become Paris Saint-Germain manager and led the French outfit to European success.
Ten Hag was sacked after two and a half years at Old Trafford. He ended United’s trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup but failed to lead the successful squad rebuild many had anticipated.
At the Club World Cup this summer, PSG have been the standout team and will face Chelsea in the final.
Enrique was in charge of Spain when Ronaldo recommended him for United, but the club went with Ten Hag instead.
The 55-year-old has had a strong coaching career so far. His honours include two La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues, three Copa del Reys, Ligue 1, and two Coupe de France trophies.
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Looking at Luis Enrique’s record against Manchester United
Enrique has been managing for over a decade, but has not yet faced United as a manager.
| Games | Goals | Assists |
| 1 | 1 | 0 |
He did play against them once during his playing days, scoring in a 3-3 Champions League draw in 1999. That match also saw goals from David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.
United went on to win the European Cup, Premier League and FA Cup that season. It was only a few years later that Enrique managed to achieve the same feat as Barcelona boss.
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