More than 1.5 million managers have decided to add Cristiano Ronaldo to their FPL squad ahead of his potential Manchester United return.
The Portuguese has dominated the headlines during the international break, but how have so many fantasy bosses squeezed him into their team?
At £12.5m Ronaldo is – along with Mohamed Salah – the most expensive player in the game.
West Ham striker Michail Antonio meanwhile is the form player – his ownership has risen by 672,297 ahead of gameweek 4 thanks to four goals and four assists so far.
Meanwhile, Watford’s Emmanuel Dennis represents the potential bargain of the season, available for just £5.2m after scoring and assisting during the opening week.
This trio would be affordable at a combined £25.6m – but which players have had to make room for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner?
Danny Ings is, in large part, the answer. The Aston Villa forward has seen a decrease in ownership of more than 700,000 ahead of GW4 despite two goals and an assist.
That said, his new team face four consecutive games rated four out of five for difficulty in the coming weeks – plenty of managers clearly thought now was a good time to free up £8m.
Elsewhere, Everton’s Richarlison and Brentford’s Ivan Toney have seen hundreds of thousands of managers cast them aside, their solitary goals not enough to protect them from the mass striker sale.
They are not the only potential casualties of Ronaldo’s return however – the Portuguese’s countryman and new club colleague Bruno Fernandes has seen a colossal ownership drop of close to a million managers.
Last season’s hot property may well have been a victim of his own price tag – at £12m, it is likely that a number of managers sold him to free up funds for a Ronaldo bid.
A hat-trick in the first league game of the season was followed by two blanks, which may well have forced the hand of those bosses keen to add United’s star signing to their roster.
Harvey Barnes at Leicester has yet to score or assist from midfield meanwhile, and was substituted in each of the Foxes’ first three games.
And Leeds’ Stuart Dallas is suffering having been categorised as a midfielder this year, rather than a defender – both he and Barnes have been dropped by tens of thousands ahead of GW4.
Replacing their midfield counterparts are Demarai Gray, Ferran Torres and Salah.
Gray’s popularity ahead of GW4 has been driven by two goals and a £5.6m price tag, while Salah continues to charm bosses with two goals, two assists, and a favourable upcoming fixture list.
But it is Torres who leads the way with an ownership rise of more than 750,000 ahead of the weekend.
The City man is registered as a midfielder in the FPL, but two goals and an assist against Arsenal in GW3 suggest he could be the forward his side needs this season.
‘Maybe I’ll be signed by Wrexham, who knows? English football would suit me – if an offer came, I wouldn’t think twice, I’d go immediately’ Euro 2024 cult hero reveals his UK dream
‘Managing Leeds? It was an option that appeared, but it wasn’t the right timing. I decided it wasn’t a good idea to leave the club I was at mid-season’: Premier League boss admits to turning down opportunity to replace Jesse Marsch in 2023
