What if: Cristiano Ronaldo never left Manchester United

The icing on the cake as Ronaldo scores Real Madrid’s fourth goal on a historic night in Lisbon

#4 Premier League would still be dominant in Europe

MOSCOW - MAY 21:  Owen Hargreaves of Manchester United beats Petr Cech of Chelsea as he scores a penalty in the shoot out during the UEFA Champions League Final match between Manchester United and Chelsea at the Luzhniki Stadium on May 21, 2008 in Moscow, Russia.  (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
The last time two English teams made it to the finals of the Champions League was in 2008

Since Chelsea’s Champions League triumph in 2012, no English team has come close to winning the trophy. Even Chelsea’s victory was a victory of grit and determination rather than skill.

However, imagine the picture of the Premier League with Cristiano Ronaldo around. Players like Eden Hazard would have worked harder to compete with Cristiano while top players like Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale would have probably still stayed in the Premier League since the La Liga wouldn’t be as attractive as it is today.

While most of the best talent lies with Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Real Madrid, high profile players like Cristiano would have won the Premier League more trophies in Europe or at least contribute to better performance.

That would, in turn, attract the most talented players to England. Imagine English football with Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, Gareth Bale. The league would probably have attracted players like Neymar if its standard was much higher talent wise.

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