Real Madrid's Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates next to the trophy after Real Madrid won the UEFA Champions League final football match between Juventus and Real Madrid at The Principality Stadium in Cardiff, south Wales, on June 3, 2017. JAVIER SORIANO / AFP
When Real Madrid paid £80 million to Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009, a lot of people felt it was an absurd amount to pay for a footballer. However, with what has happened for both player and club in the past eight years, that amount seems like a steal for the Madrid-based club. The Portuguese has gone on to perform some amazing feats on the pitch and has more than repaid the faith and trust that was put on him at the time of the transfer.
This beautiful marriage between player and club seems to be heading for a bitter divorce if recent reports are to be believed. Ronaldo has recently been accused of tax fraud in Spain and reports suggest that he is so upset about the accusation that he wants to leave the country.
Another factor being mentioned is that he doesn’t feel the club is as supportive of him as Barcelona were for Leo Messi, when the Argentine was also accused of the same offence. This scenario is something the whole football world will want to keep an eye on to see how it develops, although the player’s participation in the on-going FIFA Confederations Cup will let the story simmer a bit. Below are five reasons why Real Madrid must not let go of their prestigious Portuguese.
GOALS
Cristiano Ronaldo came into Real Madrid just as he was about hitting the peak of his powers. The Portuguese became a hybrid of a winger and centre forward and essentially invented the wing-forward position. He is currently the greatest goal scorer in the history of Real Madrid with an incredible 406 goals from 394 matches for the Spanish club and he has shown no signs of slowing down. Los blancos will definitely not want to lose a player that has been averaging 50 goals a season since his arrival at the Bernabeu and will do everything in their power to keep him.
ASSISTS
Apart from his amazing goal scoring prowess it will be unfair not to mention what else he brings to the team asides goals. He creates tons of chances for his team-mates and also has notched up over a century of assists for Real Madrid. His presence alone on the pitch creates spaces for other players around him as opponents will always pay extra attention to him, leaving his team-mates to exploit the spaces and score goals for the team.
MARKETABILITY
Real Madrid paid a world record fee to get him back in 2009, but in the ensuing years it is safe to say that they have made lots of profit from the Ronaldo brand. He has become a global icon with lots of different brands associating with him, which has made his marketability exponential. The sales from his jerseys and other CR7 merchandise has added to the bottom-line of the club helping them become one of the most valuable football clubs in the world and Real Madrid will not want to lose such a revenue generating player
LEADERSHIP
Ronaldo’s quest for greatness means that he demands 100% dedication from his team-mates and he shows that by leading on the pitch and the training ground. He pushes the players around him to strive to be better. A great example of this was during the final match at EURO 2016, where he was injured early in the match and spent the remainder of the game as a pseudo coach/motivational speaker for his team, inspiring them to go on and win the match and thus the title. Madrid will not want to let go of such an inspirational player.
BIG GAME PLAYER
Earlier on in Ronaldo’s career, he was tagged as a player that under performs in big games and in usual Ronaldo fashion he took the criticisms in stride and decided to prove the naysayers wrong; he’s since been lighting up the biggest stage with goals. He has scored numerous and important goals in the El Clasico, the Madrid derby, the UCL final, etc. and can never be tagged as that under performing player any longer. It is safe to say that the Portuguese is currently irreplaceable so why would Real Madrid want to let him go?
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