Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players in the storied history of Manchester United, and while his second stint at the club was not an entirely fruitful one, his impact is still felt at the club.
Players like Diogo Dalot improved after working with Cristiano, and the legendary Portuguese forward also subtly sowed the seeds for manager Michael Carrick to come up and save this club.
In December 2021 when Carrick was briefly in the dugout for Man United, Cristiano tweeted high praise for his former Manchester United teammate in the midfield, calling him a “class act” when he was a player while predicting that Carrick would become a “great coach” in the future. He said, “Nothing is impossible for this guy.”
Well, we are seeing Cristiano’s prediction come true before our very eyes, because in mere weeks since taking over from another historically inept Manchester United manager in Ruben Amorim, Carrick already has Manchester United in the Champions League places and dreaming of a Premier League title in their future.
Amorim and Erik ten Hag always bragged about time, but Carrick has brought the future to the present and is getting far more out of the big Man United signings than those guys did.
Carrick was a wonderful, underrated player for Manchester United more than a decade ago with metronomic efficiency on the ball, solid build up play, deep-lying playmaking, and elite defensive work.
Now, Carrick is finally getting his flowers in the dugout. All those years ago, Cristiano saw this coming – one of many things the legend predicted and said out loud for the Man United faithful to hear.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.