Manchester United bid farewell to its angry fans, and perhaps its Portuguese star, Cristiano Ronaldo, following its 3-0 victory over its guest Brentford, at the end of the 35th round of the English Premier League football.
The goals were scored by Portuguese Bruno Fernandes (9), Ronaldo (61 from a penalty kick) and Frenchman Raphael Varane, who scored his first goal with the club (72).
The Portuguese star raised his score to 18 goals, to occupy the third place in the league’s top scorer list for the current season behind South Korean Heung-min Son (19), Tottenham striker, while Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, Liverpool striker, is on the top scorer (22).
The “Squawka” statistics network indicated that Ronaldo equaled his scoring record in the Premier League, which he achieved in his last seasons with Manchester United (2008-2009) before his departure to Real Madrid years ago.
But the “Don” outperformed himself that season, as he managed to reach his 18 goals in 29 matches, while he needed to participate in 33 matches, to reach this scoring record in the 2008-2009 season.
Ronaldo scored 14 goals in the English Premier League this season at Old Trafford, to outperform the Portuguese legend over all Premier League players, as no other player has scored more goals on his team’s stadium.
Ronaldo also included the Brentford team to a large list of his victims, as the number of clubs he scored once morest throughout his history rose to 123, along with 45 teams, knowing that he is two goals away from entering the club of 700 goals with clubs only.
Ronaldo seemed moved while greeting the fans in the stands, as he was keen to go to the fans on all sides of the stadium to say goodbye.
Some linked this farewell to reports confirming the departure of the 37-year-old from the club one season following his return, while another section of fans went to explain this as a normal behavior, given the team’s last match at home this season.
The British newspaper “Mirror” shed light on what Ronaldo did following the match, when a camera approached him at Old Trafford.
And the “Don” looked at the camera and said, “I’m not done yet,” which some interpreted as a message to Dutch coach Eric Ten Hag, who is scheduled to take over the coaching job at the end of the current season.
“This is a message to Eric Ten Hag,” Sky Sports analyst Jamie Carraer said of the behaviour.
Many reports indicated the possibility of Ronaldo leaving the “Red Devils” this season following failing to reach the Champions League, following returning early this season for a second term, following the first between 2003 and 2009.
After logically losing the possibility of achieving fourth place, the last qualifying for the Champions League, following failing to win in his previous three matches (two losses and a draw), United entered the last match at home in search of a final victory in front of their fans.
German coach Ralf Rangnick’s team raised its score to 58 points from 36 games, five points behind Arsenal, fourth, and three behind Tottenham Hotspur, who played two fewer games.
And following he played the 37th, penultimate stage match, earlier once morest his guest Chelsea (1-1) because the London club was busy in the cup final once morest Liverpool on May 14, United next comes to Brighton before concluding the season at Crystal Palace.
After a fifth successive season, during which United failed to achieve any title, Dutchman Eric Ten Hag will supervise the team from next season, while Rangnick will remain in an advisory role, despite his appointment last week as coach of the Austrian national team.
And in the 73rd minute, 17 minutes before the end of the match, a number that represents the years since the American Glazers took ownership of the club, some fans left in protest once morest the owners’ policy.
Source: agencies
