Cristiano Ronaldo has lots of options
Real Madrid’s crisis is deepening and so is the mood of their perennial star player Cristiano Ronaldo.
Anybody who has watched Real Madrid this season knows that a lot is wrong with Los Blancos. Maybe the team has finally grown tired after two straight seasons playing the maximum amount of games? Maybe competing for, and winning to be fair, five trophies has simply taken the strength out of the players? We could continue to go on forever about maybe’s but the truth is at the moment things aren’t working.
One rumor is that Cristiano Ronaldo is simply unhappy with his contract. He’s always been a player who wasn’t afraid to discuss money and it’s importance to him. Ronaldo wants to be one of the highest paid players in the world. Currently, he’s not even close. His form has slumped before during contract disputes so there’s some gravity to those claims.
The truth is though that Ronaldo has a litany of options:
Re-Sign
Ronaldo could very well re-sign for Real Madrid with a new contract at a higher wage and simply stay in Spain. That is of course obviously an option. Rumors though highlight the fact that Real’s management does feel Ronaldo is finally, just maybe, feeling his age. 33 this year the Portuguese superstar is certainly at the age where players traditionally hit their downturn.
Ronaldo, however, is no ordinary player. His physique is as perfect as has ever been or possibly ever will be. His work ethic is simply unmatched and his personal habits are as professional as is possible. He doesn’t drink and takes such perfect care of his diet that it’s studied.
Ronaldo can probably play in Spain till he’s 40 and that would be a fine move for him. Real Madrid should re-sign him.
That said they don’t seem interested.
If I were Ronaldo…
Serie A, Bayern Munich or PSG.
I would move.
Ronaldo should finish out this season with Real Madrid and see if they can win a third Champions League in a row. Despite their domestic issues Real Madrid have been Real Madrid in Europe and it’s worth trying to complete that historic achievement. If he wins then he can leave on a high note, or stay, and if he loses then at least he gave it a shot.
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Serie A is on the up and up at the moment and is easily the most interesting division in Europe at the moment. Juventus could afford a transfer and salary for Ronaldo and he could continue to stock his trophy cabinet. The power of Juventus as a brand would continue to let him compete for Ballon D’Or’s. It’s also important to consider that Ronaldo does reflect on his legacy at almost all times. A career spent at the Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus would be a very remarkable one indeed.
The Milan clubs are also now full of foreign investment and could be looking to make a splash. These are less likely as they’re still some ways from truly competing at the top-level.
Bayern Munich would also be a good and pedigreed club that Ronaldo could work at. They play in the Champions League and compete to win it every year. The club is currently going through a transition with Lewandowski on the way out and Muller not quite the player he was. Ending his career in Bavaria could be an interesting move.
PSG then is another good option and they would pay the highest fee and salary for him. The truth is though this isn’t entirely about money. Ronaldo has more marketing pull than any athlete in the world and he knows that. What Cristiano Ronaldo needs is a division with enough pedigree that it wouldn’t appear to be a step-down.
At the moment though PSG is a proud and strong club Ligue 1 still is not at the level of the Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga or the Premier League. It would be a final concession more than a final adventure if Ronaldo were to make that move.
Finally, he shouldn’t return to Manchester United. They’d pay him handsomely but he has more to lose than win with his legacy at Manchester United by returning.
China
Cristiano Ronaldo could also feasibly move to China where he could simply seek a historic deal. A 10 year deal for a sum of money that is beyond the realm of comprehension is what he could do. They paid Carlos Tevez over 600k a week to play in China for six months. Ronaldo could very feasibly then seek 1.5 million a week if he wanted and do that for a long time.
It would be Ronaldo stepping out of the spotlight but it would also be a new frontier and it would cement him the most marketable player in the world with a grasp on China that would be iron tight.
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If Ronaldo could sign a 500-600 million euros contract to play in China no one would hold it against him. By the time he finally retired there’s a chance he would have made 1 billion euros in the sport. That’s worth attempting even if it means stepping out of the spot light.