Durban - Barring a strong performance by either Portugal or Argentina at the 2022 World Cup, it does look likely that the latest Ballon d’Or may be the final time that either of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo win it.
Both players have been having one of the worst seasons of their careers by their standards at Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United respectively.
At the time of writing, Ronaldo has just 12 Premier League goals for United this term. He had more than double that in Serie A last season for Juventus (29).
Ronaldo is currently on course to achieve his lowest goal tally in a league season since 2009, his final season in his first stint with the Red Devils when he scored 18 in that campaign.
Ronaldo’s homecoming to United ahead of this season has clearly not gone according to plan. After the club spent heavily during the close season transfer window, there was hope that they would finally return to their former glory under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
And what better way to do it than by Ronaldo returning at the twilight of his career?
Instead, the Portuguese is now certain to have his first season as a player without a trophy since 2005.
Ronaldo will also have to seriously think about his future at United, and judging by his love for the Champions League, it looks unlikely that he will stay in Manchester – unless the Red Devils do manage a top-four finish this season.
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Ronaldo remains good enough to play at the highest level. He has still been one of United’s best attackers in front of goal this season, and he proved with his hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur last month that he is still capable of doing things other players can only dream of on his good days.
However, this season has proven that despite Ronaldo’s individual dynamism, he does not really bring out the best in teammates, as the likes of Karim Benzema, Son-Heung Min and Roberto Firmino do.
Due to his outrageous scoring rate over the years, Ronaldo’s flaws were easily and mostly overlooked.
This season they have been laid bare, especially as he features in arguably the weakest club side that he has played for since becoming a worldwide superstar in the mid-to-late 2000s.
If one thing is certain, United are still clearly a team in a rebuilding phase, and their next manager will not really be mandated to win trophies from the get-go next season. The club may arguably be better off in the long-term if they part ways with Ronaldo at the end of the season in order to focus on the future.
It will, however, also not hurt them to keep Ronaldo for another season. United were clearly a striker short, even with Ronaldo’s presence.
Should he depart, they will likely have to look at bringing in two strikers ahead of next season as they look to re-establish themselves as one of the giants of English football.