Manchester United could be without Cristiano Ronaldo next season, with the forward reportedly ready to walk away from United in search of Champions League football.
According to The Times, Ronaldo has asked United to allow him to leave this summer if a satisfactory offer came in for the 37-year-old, with the news potentially impacting Erik ten Hag 's preparations for next season United were quick to confirm that the Portugal international is not for sale this summer.
Ronaldo ended last season as United's top scorer, grabbing 24 goals in all competitions, including 18 in the Premier League. United are looking to secure the signings of Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen over the next few days, with the former undergoing his medical with United and the latter having made a verbal agreement to join Ten Hag's side. Ajax trio Jurrien Timber, Lisandro Martinez and Antony along with Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong have also been heavily linked.
READ MORE: Christian Eriksen verbally agrees to join Manchester United
So, if Ronaldo was to leave United and Ten Hag could sign all of his major targets this summer, how would Ten Hag's side perform? Could United challenge for a top-four spot without their talisman, or would the new signings outweigh the impact of the outgoing striker?
We simulated United's 2022/23 season with no Ronaldo, and this is what happened.
Man United's 2022/23 season simulated with no Cristiano Ronaldo
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Ronaldo to leave Ten Hag's side during the summer transfer window, whilst six new faces arrived at the club using FM22 to run the simulation. We left FM22 to decide his next club, with the simulation sending Ronaldo to Bayern Munich.
All of the new signings became regulars in the starting XI at United, with De Jong, Martinez and Antony getting the most game time. De Jong managed the second-most appearances at the club as he became a vital part of Ten Hag's side, managing 13 assists whilst earning the most Player of the Match awards (9).
Marcus Rashford moved into the lone striker role and was revitalised under Ten Hag, with the Englishman hitting the best form of his career as he scored 23 goals. Bruno Fernandes is another who re-found their form under Ten Hag, grabbing 11 goals and 14 assists.
Martinez and Timber slotted into the defence nicely as they became regulars in the backline at United, replacing both Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot in the XI. Antony hit double digits for goals in his first season as the Brazilian impressed, outshining Jadon Sancho who was slightly underwhelming in his second season at the club.
Eriksen settled for a spot in the squad as a rotation player, making 25 appearances for United, with 16 of them off the bench. Malacia struggled to get past Luke Shaw in the pecking order, and a long-term injury in the simulation saw the defender limited to just 14 appearances. At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best Man United XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what United's best XI looked like at the end of the 2022/23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full United best XI: (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Timber, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Fred, De Jong ; Antony, Fernandes, Sancho; Rashford.
Four of United's new signings made the best XI for Ten Hag's side in the 2022/23 season, with both Malacia and Eriksen missing out. Luke Shaw was the first-choice left-back for United, starting in the back line along with Martinez, Varane and Timber.
Fred partnered De Jong in the midfield pivot, whilst Antony started on the right of the midfield three, which also included Fernandes and Sancho, leaving Rashford to lead the line. So, how did United perform in the league and cup competitions with their new-look squad? Let's take a look.
Man United's results from the 2022-23 simulation:
Despite losing Ronaldo, United gained 13 more points than they did in the 2022/23 season, but could still only manage a fifth-place Premier League finish, earning 70 points overall. As you would expect, Ten Hag's side improved defensively, with the Reds only conceding 36 goals in 38 games, 21 fewer than last season. Despite this, they still scored 57 goals, the same as the 2021/22 season.
But even with the improvement defensively, United still finished eight points off the Champions League spots. United did manage to win a trophy in the 2022/23 season though, with goals from Fernandes and Rashford seeing United beat Real Sociedad 2-0 in the Europa League final, clinching Champions League qualification for the following season.
United were poor in the domestic cup competitions though, reaching the fourth round in both cups. A penalty shootout defeat saw United exit the Carabao Cup to Newcastle, whilst a last-minute goal from Joao Cancelo handed Man City a 2-1 win over United in the FA Cup.
Overall, this Football Manager simulation predicts that if United were to sell Cristiano Ronaldo this summer, the loss of the 37-year-old could potentially give Ten Hag's side greater defensive stability, whilst keeping the same offensive output. However, this didn't particularly improve their league performances, suggesting that the striker would need to be replaced if they are to compete with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City. Compared to the 2021/22 season, United managed more points, improved their league position and won a trophy without Ronaldo, allowing Rashford to flourish under Ten Hag in the striker role.
Would you be happy for United to make these signings if it meant Ronaldo left? Let us know in the comments!
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