How Cristiano Ronaldo's return to Manchester United is helping me cope with the loss of my mother

“If you love someone, let them go, if they come back to you, they are yours, If not, they never were.”

12 years ago, I watched Cristiano Ronaldo leave Manchester United for Real Madrid despite Sir Alex Ferguson initially claiming he would never be sold. But when a then-world record fee of £80 million was offered, it was too good for even the great Scotsman to resist.

I struggled to come to terms with Ronaldo’s departure from United and tried to console myself by believing that United had got the best version of him. However, he proved how naive I was by becoming Madrid’s greatest-ever goal-scorer by amassing 450 goals in 438 games. He also helped the club win 4 UEFA Champions League trophies and multiple La Liga titles.

I, on the other hand, set out to find my calling in life in the aftermath of Ronaldo’s departure by completing my formal education and then trying to pursue my passion for sports journalism. And the person who anchored me on this journey was my mother. She helped me through one of the toughest phases of my life as I transitioned from a student to a working professional in my early twenties.

I set out to emulate Ronaldo in whichever field of work I settled into but life gave me a few reality checks very early on. Soon, I realised the kind of talent, effort and work ethic it must take to do what Ronaldo does and my respect for the man grew even more. More importantly, I learnt that admiring your idol does not translate to emulating them.

The Ronaldo of mothers

Juventus v Atalanta - Pre-Season Friendly

Now when I look back on that phase of my life, I realize that I don’t quite know how my mother felt about it. She was way too busy supporting me physically, mentally and emotionally to dwell on any of my shortcomings during that stage of my life for too long. My mother was not a football person by any stretch of the imagination. She never understood it and she never cared enough to try and understand what it was about.

For her, football was never 'the beautiful game', just eleven men running around in shorts. Though she never understood the game, she acknowledged how much it meant to me. Over a period of time, she came to accept that my emotions were fundamentally connected to the game.

My mother was a non-football person if there ever was one. Ironically, it was only in the face of the failures of my early adult life that I began to see her in a new light. Now when I reminisce about the kind of person she was, I can’t help but see the uncanny similarities between her and my footballing idol, Ronaldo. Along with a certain amount of talent, both of them had an innate desire to be the best in their respective fields and a work ethic that was second to none.

This scenario ensured that my failure to emulate Ronaldo resulted in me following in the footsteps of my mother more than ever. The fact that my mother was an ever-present figure in my life made it easy for her to mould me into the best version of myself.

How Ronaldo’s return to United is helping me cope with the loss of my mother

As the years rolled on, I slowly but surely started to find my feet on the professional front. Over the last three years, fortunately, I have managed to find a side hustle as a stand-up comedian while maintaining a corporate job that helps me pay my bills.

While I’m extremely grateful for how far I’ve come, I’m well aware that I would not be in this position had it not been for the efforts of my mother. Add to that, everything that I have imbibed from her over the years. So I never backed down from giving back to my mother in whichever way I could. My mother, too, was extremely proud of my achievements and never shied away from telling others about it when I was not around.

While I was well-settled on the professional front, on a personal level, I still wanted Ronaldo to return to United someday. But it seemed like a distant dream given that Ronaldo and United had contrasting fortunes during this period. While Ronaldo proved his mettle at Madrid first and then at Juventus, United struggled to recreate the glory days of yesteryear. Ronaldo had single-handedly outgrown United during his time away from Old Trafford and that made his return even more improbable over the years.

Much like United’s fortunes without Ronaldo, my personal life, too, went for a toss late last year when my mother was suddenly diagnosed with a terminal illness. Over the next six months, there was nothing that I did not do, a prayer I did not say, or a wish I did not make for my mother’s health to be restored. But fate had a different plan in store for me as I lost my mother earlier this year and I have struggled to restore parity in my life ever since.

Fortunately, things took an unexpected turn for the better on 27th August 2021. It was confirmed that Ronaldo had agreed on a return to United after more than a decade away.

Ironically, my initial reaction to the news was the same as the day I learnt that I was about to lose my mother. I could not believe my senses at first and then a stream of tears rolled down my cheeks. More importantly, albeit for a fleeting moment in time, everything in my life felt alright again.

Ronaldo’s return to United gives me hope that we will eventually find our way back to the people we love the most. This hope is what is getting me through the days at this point in my life.

When I do find my way back to my mother on the other side, I’ll tell her how much I still love Ronaldo and that when it comes to mothers, much like Ronaldo, she is the Greatest of All Time.