GRANADA, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 07: Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid CF reacts during the La Liga match between Granada CF and Real Madrid CF at Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes on February 7, 2016 in Granada, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
Cristiano Ronaldo Past His Best At Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo has recently hit the wrong side of 30 and his days at the top could be numbered. Have we seen the best of Ronaldo already?
During his Manchester United days he was by far the best player in the league but, not everyone was convinced he would repeat the same standards when he made his, at the time, world record move to Real Madrid. But of course he proved everyone wrong and has been at the very top of world football ever since, battling it out with Lionel Messi year in, year out.
As time goes on he will begin to struggle to perform at the high levels he is used to due to his age. Ronaldo has broken all sorts of records and is now Real Madrid’s all time top goalscorer with an outstanding return of 343 goals in 328 appearances.
The battle for the number one spot in the world between Ronaldo and Messi has been going on for a while now and both have proven to be two of the best players the game has ever seen.
The argument over the two players is stupid because they are both very different players. It is like a situation where one will score three and the other will go and score four, it is very hard to separate them.
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However, Messi has since won back the Ballon D’or award and he is showing no signs of slowing up, whereas Ronaldo, who is a few years older, will struggle to keep up his high levels of performance for much longer as his game is solely based around pace and power. After winning two Ballon D’or awards in a row, Ronaldo may have already seen and past his best days on the football pitch.
Don’t get me wrong, Ronaldo is an absolute athlete and will be at the top level of the game for a couple more years, but with age taking its toll he may struggle to perform at the high standards we have seen over the years and to the standards he expects himself to perform at.
At times in the last couple of years he has been unstoppable and has physically been in the best shape of his life. Could the crazy idea to have a movie of his life story be a sign his career is starting to wind down?
The talks of a move away from the Bernabeu have been greater than ever and Manchester United and PSG are interested in securing his services, however, PSG the more likely to seal his services. A move to PSG could be another sign that he is past his best and that he wants to try a new league, win different trophies and of course get an unneeded pay rise before the end of a fantastic career.
The two time Champions League winner, Ronaldo, has achieved some fantastic things during his career so far and I would expect him to go on and gain further achievements in the reminder of his career. As Cristiano Ronaldo relies a lot on power and pace in his game, it may mean that Messi will remain at the top for longer as his style of play isn’t so physically demanding as Ronaldo’s style.
I still believe Ronaldo has a lot more to show in his career, however, I find it hard to make case for Ronaldo to better his best years so far as his body will less likely deal with the demand of football at the highest level. No doubt that Ronaldo will go down in the history books as one of the greatest ever, but everyone has to retire one day (unless you are Ronaldinho, he never stops).
