Ronaldo sent a message after the win against Brentford that he is not finished yet. He also broke another record in the match

Manchester United defeated Brentford 3:0 in the 35th round of the Premier League on Monday. Cristiano Ronaldo also scored once in the match, converting a penalty in the 61st minute. After the game, Ronaldo was all smiles and told the TV audience: “I’m not finished.” Could this mean that Ronaldo will stay in Manchester for another season?

The end of CR7 in a United jersey?

Cristiano Ronaldo’s future in a Manchester City jersey has been much discussed in recent weeks. There has even been speculation about his return to Real Madrid, which we have already reported on our website.

Two facts in particular contribute to these speculations. The first is that United do not qualify for the Champions League.

Fourth place guaranteeing the Champions League is already out of reach for the Red Devils (fourth is currently Arsenal 63pts, fifth Tottenham 61pts, both with 34 games, sixth Manchester United has 58pts with 36 games).

Back in the autumn, it was reported in the media that if United did not qualify for the Champions League, Ronaldo would be allowed to leave, which we also wrote about on our website.

Another obstacle for Ronaldo’s continuation at Old Trafford could be the arrival of Dutch coach Erik ten Hag from Ajax Amsterdam, who prefers rather younger players. Ronaldo might also not fit into ten Hag’s high pressing philosophy.

Immediately after Monday’s game, however, Ronaldo expressed himself on camera,saying, “I’m not finished.“

Surely that means Ronaldo should not be written off given his age. But could it also mean that CR7 wants to keep fighting for success in a Manchester United jersey? We’ll probably only find out in the summer transfer window.

On the question of Ronaldo staying in Manchester, his interim coach Ralf Rangnick also commented to Sky Sports: “You have to ask Erik ten Hag about that question. Ronaldo has shown that he can still be an important part of this team, but it is clear that the team needs more strikers. There should be two or three new strikers next season, that’s pretty obvious.“

Breaking another record

Ronaldo’s goal in the Brentford net was his 18th in England’s top competition this season.

This means that he has surpassed the legendary Tom Finney of Preston North End in the historical tables of goalscorers who have reached the age of 37, sharing the top spot with Johnny Hnacocks of Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Ronaldo is third in the current Premier League goalscorers table. Ahead of him, the top two positions are occupied by Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min (19 goals) and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (22 goals).

These figures prove that Ronaldo is not yet part of the old guard and it would certainly be a shame if he were to leave the best competition in the world.

Source: Manchester United, Sky Sports, Premier League, Twitter