@Devil-Dick Willie described the Manchester United recruitment very well after it appeared Ronaldo wasn't the instant messiah people anticipated he would be.
Man United sign players they want. Liverpool and Man City sign players they need.
Cristiano Ronaldo prevented Pep from getting a penalty box predator that Man City's build up play craves, but from a neutral observers perspective he's effectively limited the impact of so many other influential players around him. Jason Sancho can't run behind him, Bruno's end product numbers have disintegrated and Mason Greenwood hasn't been able to produce the same shot volume before as he struggling to get in the positions for his Van Persie-esque positions to thrive. At Juventus they put up with it because of his consistent returns against mid/low table clubs but he's not even scoring against Ben Foster at the minute.