Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from Manchester united was something that caught many people by surprise. It follows an unbelievably honest and really direct interview by the Portuguese star on his troubles with the team.
Now, a question needs to be risen about Cristiano’s Motives and reasoning that took affect before taking the interview.
Stars like Ronaldo have more than what you would call a “household name”. In every neighborhood on planet earth there is at least one soccer league where there is an illegally used picture of Ronaldo and Leo Messi. Babies come out of their wombs knowing Ronaldo’s name before their own mother’s.
Naturally, that may lead stars to think they are untouchable in that regard. In the past, the mere box office value of a star being in the team was worth all the trouble he might cause for a club. It’s really no different than movie stars, chefs, or any other stars in the world of sports that knows the team falls and rises thanks\because of them.
I am sure that in this case Ronaldo thought the same thing. He was in a perfect Cinderella tale, where he returns to his former club like a hunter that comes back home after a successful run in bounty hunting.
However, life had other plans and Ronaldo had quite a disappointing run with Manchester united. But, according to our theory, it shouldn’t matter, right? When huge stars like Ronaldo make mistakes, play bad and even publicly shame the team, in most eras clubs would just let it slide.
Manchester United have made a precedent in the way clubs keep their players accountable both on and off the field. They issued a quick response to the situation, which made them seem like a club that will take no public shaming as something that could be ignored. Ronaldo, on the other hand, now seems like an immature, toxic player. That doesn’t only affect Ronaldo in the micro, where now it will be more difficult for him to find a new employer. Manchester made a statement by claiming there is now a new balance of power between clubs and players.
We already saw precedents of this in basketball, where NBA players are now not the controllers of their fate as much as they want to, and displaying toxic behaviors like sitting out games and faking injuries are no longer tolerated.
When children fly thousands of miles to to especially watch their favorite stars play for two hours, there is a binding unwritten rule that mandates players to be at their absolute best at all times for them.
Now, other players will think twice before arousing provocations in order to get themselves in better situations. I hope.
