“He believes he can do anything with the ball, and that confidence makes him very special indeed.”
Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (“The Black Pearl”) on Cristiano Ronaldo
When discussing the game of Futbol, there are many players who can be considered “great”. There’s Kylian Mbappe, the young prodigy from France, who’s considered to be the leader of the next generation of footballers. There’s Erling Haaland, the tenacious Norwegian striker known for his physicality and ferocious play at German club Borussia Dortmund and English Permier league powerhouse Manchester City. You could even consider Jude Bellingham, a young midfielder from Borussia Dortmund, who is a textbook example of what you want in a player based on his intangibility, ever since he joined Birmingham City’s under-eight youth squad.
These players have their own strengths and weaknesses, as does every player. However, you cannot discuss the talent of today without mentioning one of the pioneers of the sport: Cristiano Ronaldo. Ever since his time at Manchester United, Juventus, and Real Madrid, Ronaldo is known as one of the best footballers of all time, with his only opponent being Lionel Messi. The Multi Ballon d’Or winner, and five-time Champions League trophy holder has had an interesting career over the past two decades, in part due to do his performance for each team he has played for so far.
Recently, Ronaldo has been in the news for accepting an offer with Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr. The club will reportedly pay him around 200 million dollars a season after his stint in the Premier league, returning to Manchester United. At 37 years of age, not many clubs were willing to pay top-dollar for the Portuguese Paragon, so this move came as a shock to many people when it was first reported as a rumor by ESPN.
The move was confirmed shortly after the World Cup, which caused a social media outrage on all platforms. Fans and Haters of Ronaldo were saying that he was a “sellout” or that he had “contradicted himself”, referring to an interview where he stated that he wanted to play “At the highest level possible” for the duration of his career. Despite all of this outrage, many people actually came out in support of Ronaldo, saying that he should leave European football, and cement his legacy as a top-ranked football player.
No matter how you feel about Ronaldo’s current situation, the impact of his career on the game can’t be ignored. People tend to forget that Ronaldo came from humble beginnings, and worked hard to hold his current status as a high-profile player. So, instead of focusing on this puzzling move, why don’t we take a look at his entire career and connect the dots as to-why he made this move in the first place.
Sporting CP: The Beginning
Before the spotlight was placed upon him, Cristiano Ronaldo played for Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon (also known as Sporting CP) during the 2002-2003 season. He was just 17 years old, and was recently promoted from their youth academy because he showed exceptional promise and potential after training with the first-team. Ronaldo would go on to score just five goals and five assists, but would gain the attention of serval European clubs over the course of that season. During the the 2003-2004 preseason, Sporting faced Manchester United in a friendly, where all eyes were on Ronaldo. After a spectacular performance against the Red Devils, Alex Ferguson ended up signing him just a week later. Ronaldo would be playing in the Premier League for the first time in his career.
Manchester United: The Bridge to Success
During his time at United from 2003-2008, Ronaldo would live up to his potential and step into his role as a fantastic playmaker. In his first season, Ronaldo would make around 40 appearances across European competition, scoring around 6-8 goals during 393 minutes on the pitch. In the following season, he would play in 50 games but saw little improvement in his scoring, with 9 goals to his name in around 485 minutes of play. Fans would start calling him CR7 after he took this number from Manchester United legend David Beckham, which gave Ronaldo added motivation to succeed in domestic and international competition. Ronaldo would continue to improve in areas of the game until his breakout season in 2007-2008, where he scored 42 goals. This season was miraculous with United, where they won the Champions league and the Premier League double, earning Ronaldo his first Ballon d’Or in 2008.
During his time at United, Ronaldo formed a close relationship and bond with Sir Alex Ferguson, calling him a father figure on numerous occasions. Ferguson not only made Ronaldo a better player, but he made him a better person by instilling confidence within him as he blossomed at United.
After a fantastic 5-6 years in Old Trafford, Ronaldo became one of the most expensive transfers ever, as he joined La Liga’s Real Madrid. Ronaldo showed that he was capable of leading a squad to victory, but Ronaldo and now ex-manager Zinedine Zidane were in for a big surprise.
Real Madrid: Rise to Glory
This is where Ronaldo’s legacy was cemented. From 2009-2018 Ronaldo would make over 438 appearances , scoring 450 goals across all European competition for Real Madrid. He would win 4 Champions league trophies, 4 Ballon d’Ors, 3 three club world cups, 3 UEFA super cups, 2 LaLiga titles, 2 Spanish super cups and 2 Copas del Rey titles, with the likes of French striker Karim Benzema and Welsh winger Gareth Bale (forming a triumvirate of sorts). This was the peak of Ronaldo’s career. It could not get any better than this. From this point on, he was considered in the all-time “great” conversation, along with club rival Lionel Messi. Messi and Ronaldo would have many battles during their time in LaLiga, facing off for “El-Classico” (Barcelona vs Real Madrid). Two respective legends were defending their club’s honor for 90 minutes, giving it their all on the pitch. This was LaLiga Futbol.
Ronaldo shined under his coach Zinedine Zidane, saying that he made him “feel special” as a player and liked his overall management-style, which he succeeded under.
“The confidence that a player needs doesn’t only come from himself but also from the players around him and the coach.
Ronaldo on Zidane (quote from Bleacher Report)
You need to feel like you are an important part of the group and Zidane made me feel special.
He helped me a lot. I already had a lot of respect for him but working with him made me admire him more.
That’s because of what he’s like as a person, how he talks, how he led the team and how he treated me”.
It seemed like Ronaldo was going to stay within the confines of the Santiago Bernabéu, until news outlets announced that Ronaldo was signing with Juventus in 2018. According to Ronaldo, he felt like Real Madrid’s club President wasn’t treating him with enough respect. The tension at Madrid, coupled with the fact that Ronaldo was going to court over 19 million euros of unpaid taxes, was a sign that his time in Spain was coming to an end.
There were several unanswered questions as to why Ronaldo left Real Madrid: Was it for money?, How is he going to win European silver? What was the point? No one truly knows, but one thing was for certain: the futbol world would change for good with Ronaldo’s departure.
Juventus: Italia’s Finest?
Ronaldo Spent 3 years in Serie A, playing for Juventus (2018-2021). His time At Juventus consisted of 134 games, where he scored 101 goals and was awarded Serie A player of the year (2019). Juventus also won 2 Serie A titles with Ronaldo as well as the Suppercoppa in a 1-0 victory against Milan.
There isn’t much to discuss about Ronaldo’s time at Juve, because of his sudden departure in 2021. It seemed as though the transfer from Juventus back to Manchester United was a result of mutual interest from both parties. Ronaldo’s 100 million dollar contract with Juventus was too much to keep up with, and Ronaldo was interested in returning to the premier league after reportedly talking to Alex Ferguson and having a conversation about his future.
Manchester United: Homecoming
After a 10 year sabbatical, Ronaldo was back where he started: Old Trafford. At 36 years old, he was back home. United fans rejoiced on social media as they saw the announcement of Ronaldo joining their squad, hoping for him to bring glory back to Manchester.
When Ronaldo joined the Red Devils in August of 2021 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, they were in a bad situation. Manchester United needed to rebound after back-to-back seasons of no silverware. Unfortunately, Ronaldo got off to a slow start that season which resulted in him scoring just 24 goals over the span of 30 games. Solskjaer was later sacked and replaced by new manager Erik Ten Hag, who seemed to show some promise in the managerial role since José Mourinho around 4 years prior. However, tension arose between Ten Hag and Ronaldo, which resulted in Ronaldo being benched for the remainder of the season. Ultimately, Ronaldo felt unhappy at United after several manager changes and the role he played on the pitch. After several back-and-forth conversations, Ronaldo seemed to be on his way out.
After the 2022 World Cup concluded, it was clear that Ronaldo was unhappy and frustrated with his performance. His club performance seemed to interfere with his international play, after being benched in the during the quarterfinal of the World Cup vs Morocco.
Final Thoughts
Ronaldo is currently on Al Nassr’s squad and is planning to make his debut for the club after their foreign players ban is lifted. Ronaldo’s career has been full of ups-and-downs ever since he made it to Europe. With this move to Saudi Arabia, many believe that this is Ronaldo’s last chapter. He won almost every piece of silverware across Europe, became a captain for many teams over the years, exceeded his potential as a player, and has been considered one of the all-time greats within the sport. No matter what you think about Ronaldo, No matter what he’s said in the past, in his mind the show must go on.
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