Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus, Is it Possible?
As the whole world is busy about the World Cup in Russia, so is La Liga club Real Madrid busy meddling with Cristiano Ronaldo. We all know how the World Cup ended for the striker. It was a disappointing disaster as they were defeated by Uruguay 2-1 at the Round of 16.
And it wasn’t just about his failed campaign in Russia, but he’s also got a hard time dealing with La Liga back in Spain. Real Madrid didn’t meet everyone’s expectations as they only finished in third place.
Barcelona reigned victorious, which isn’t a good thing knowing that his arch rival, Lionel Messi, plays there. Atletico Madrid had also improved drastically, leaving them in the pits of possible continuous failure in the seasons to come.
No one wants to be in this situation, especially if you’re Cristiano Ronaldo. Because of this, reports have it that he might be leaving Bernabeu in search of greener pastures. In fact, Real Madrid is reported to be busy meddling with affairs concerning his possible exit out of the club.
Serie A club Juventus could be the next home of Ronaldo if negotiations continue.
It’s been a long eight years since Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009. His six years stay in English club Manchester United proved to be a misfit for him later on, despite the spectacular performance he had in the Premier League.
Looking back at Ronaldo’s spectacular runs
Upon transferring for a world record £80 million, Ronaldo easily became the face of the game, not only in the club but in the whole world as well. His popularity grew into unimaginable proportions, thanks of course to his smooth transition into the Spanish environment.
Becoming Real's all-time top scorer was a huge accomplishment for him, but what made him considered by many as the best footballer of this generation is his 45 made goals in all competitions, as well as his two, won La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies. Indeed, Ronaldo is an achiever.
Unfortunately, all the glitz and glamor he achieved weren’t enough to ensure his permanent stay in the Spanish capital. There were a number of occasions when he had a series of fallouts in the team, specifically with the managers and the players.
He had even stated in numerous instances that he wants to leave and settle in another club. This comes as a huge blow to the club as never before did they have a star player who’s in the caliber of Ronaldo.
And him leaving the club and giving Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos, and the others free reign doesn’t sound too compelling.
Yes, they might be superstars, but Ronaldo isn’t just about the skills and talent, but he’s also about the experience. Removing him out of the team is like getting the genius behind the spacings and attacks.
For some, the idea that Ronaldo is leaving Real is still far fetched knowing that his recent Champions League campaign with Los Blancos was a successful one. Making it to the final and defeating the raging Salah-led Liverpool was a huge accomplishment for him, which for sure, has solidified his role as one of the greatest to play the game.
However, it was also during that time when he hinted that he might leave the club as he said in an interview right after the game ended that it was great to play for Real Madrid. Though many different meanings can be drawn from this statement, it's safe to say that one of the probable meanings behind that is that he intends to leave.
And it wasn't only that instance when he hinted at his possible transfer, but he also gave another shot the next day during their celebration parade. Ronaldo said to his supporters that he'd see them next season.
At first glance, it seemed like he’ll be back in Bernabeu. However, that might also mean that it’s an irony or hint that he’ll be on another club next season.
Putting those alleged hints aside, it's worth noting that there are also other instances that show how eager Ronaldo is to move out of Real Madrid. Another one was when reports stated that he wasn't any more happy in Bernabeu.
It was a huge news story that set the whole Portuguese media aflame.
There was also his statement made a few years ago during an interview after their game against Granada. Ronaldo frankly said that he's sad and his club knows why. He didn't give out further details about that, but it can be drawn from that statement that Ronaldo might indeed be planning his exit for a long time already.
Meanwhile, Juventus, the club reported to be the likely next home of Ronaldo decided not to comment any further, saying that their official comments are only made public in their official media channels.
With this, it’s safe to say that anything is possible. But then again, there are these many hints which suggest his inevitable exit out of Real Madrid.
On the other hand, Real didn’t issue any statement regarding the reported exit of Ronaldo. This, again, is another hint that transfer talks might be undergoing. Compare this with what they said with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar’s reported transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid, and one can easily see the difference.
Real was quick to confirm that they’re not going to get Mbappe and Neymar. But they remained silent when asked about Ronaldo’s possible transfer.
It was reported that the reason behind this was due to the team’s interest in Neymar. Reports stated that Real wants to get Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain. What makes things worse is that Real President Florentino Perez is the one behind this move.
He even publicly courted Neymar to join Los Blancos because his chances of getting the Ballon d’Or award will be higher.
This is a direct blow to Ronaldo’s legacy knowing that he’s on an annual race to win the award. And having a rival to the Ballon d’Or in his team is surely going to lead to disaster.
Ronaldo made two goals against Juventus in their 4-1 victory in last year’s Champions League final. He even made a stunning bicycle kick which led to a 3-0 Spanish victory during their first-leg quarter-final game.
This, says experts, is one of the major factors as to why the Italians would want to get the Portuguese. And surprisingly, the Italian crowd gave Ronaldo a standing ovation.
A hat-trick on Ronaldo’s side, which means a 3-3 draw versus Spain has caused this year’s World Cup to be one of the best for him. Apart from the draw, he also managed to hit the winner of Portugal, with a win of 1-0 versus Morocco.
Despite this, he managed to miss a penalty versus Iran with a draw score of 1-1, and he was not able to score for the team in their battle versus Uruguay in the final 16 round with a 2-1 score.
Is it time for a new guard for Bernabeu?
Real Madrid has been one of Cristiano Ronaldo's frustrations, and this has become so repetitive that it's already becoming predictable. Because of this, the Portuguese have helped in upping his ego, get his pay increased, eventually ending the drama.
The final victory of the Champions league fueled his frustration towards the club in Liverpool. While nobody thought of the matter as a serious one, things were a bit different this time around, where people are beginning to believe that Ronaldo may be severing ties with the Real Madrid for real.
The adapted game of Ronaldo was a new move on his part, but this wasn’t really what Portugal needed at the time.
On a more positive note though, a lot of people like to believe that it is all in the name of adjusting to his age to still become the best athlete he could be, as well as having a firm desire to keep up his reputation as one of the best players of the team.
Despite all this, it can’t be denied, that in the midst of the stoppage time, his irritation once again threatened a resignation on his part.
A string of actions has caused people to suspect that the end is indeed near, with the ultimate sign not minding being given the yellow card after raging in front of Cesar Ramos, a referee from Mexico
This followed after deliberately doing other potential violations, such as dribbling near the penalty area, as well as cutting in a lot of times he was in the game. This was, after all, an implicit admission that his time as part of the team was coming to an end.
Should he have wanted to play, he would not have done such deliberate violations, nor would he let go of the opportunity to be a player in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, despite him having the potential to make it to the Quarter Finals.
This is indeed, shocking, given the fact that he has always been looked up to for his superb skill, rather than looking as if he’s helpless and hopeless.
One of the reasons why his frustrations have begun kicking in could be attributed to the club not doing anything to help keep him in the team. This has caused people to suspect that the team’s President, Florentino Perez think it’s time to take matters seriously.
Looking at things from his side, it can be seen that he was in the right for being annoyed and wanting to leave. The Uruguay team has been playing safe on him, keeping him at an arm’s length, which has greatly crippled his ability to show his great influence as a “big game” player.
The more the failure of Portugal seemed to come, the quieter, and less competitive and busy he had been.
Should Real Madrid be able to exact a 100m-euro fee from Juventus, then the team's President will believe in the 34-year-old player's profitability when the next season would draw to a close.
Neymar is one of the figures that seem to stay in the background prominently. For a while, it seemed that his temporary Parisian stay would come to an end, with him making a move to Madrid, where his skills in football, as well as the way the exemplary marketability would mean that he would be a great player to sign into the team.
Should he manage to make it into the team in the summer, it would be difficult to picture out how their egos with Ronaldo would co-exist in a single team, either on the field or in the dressing room, which could mean that Ronaldo may have to give way.
After all, it would end up doing more harm than good if the team were to focus more on handling two big egos, taking precious time away from their team when it comes to preparing for big games, especially matches like the World Cup and other future matches.
He is the name that rings a bell for the club, and one which the club truly wants. He is a showman, and while he may have reservations, they would all be non-existent the moment goals would start kicking in.
Despite not being able to get Neymar for the team, the President also fancies getting Kylian Mbappe into the team, whose performances in the World Cup have been impressive, which would make anyone want to sign them in.
The marketing benefits are what is considered to be a major holdover with him getting into the team, or at least, getting preferred by the team's president. He's someone who looks up to Ronaldo himself, but it would also be difficult for his current team to let go of someone who is viewed as a great treasure.
Apart from Neymar and Mbappe, one of the targets for replacement is Harry Kane, even though Real Madrid is willing to do what they can to try and keep Ronaldo in.
After all, it would be really hard to find a replacement that could play as well as Ronaldo does, who has managed to bag four titles from the Champions League in the nine years that he has been with Bernabeu.
Other outside changes, and probably a choice that’s not obvious yet extremely possible is Leroy Sane, a young, 22-year old who exemplarily performed during the Premier League Champion city in the past season, and as a young guy, it would not be surprising should he be tempted to bit into huge offers by European champion teams.
Other names in the mix include Eden Hazard, who may be the easiest go-to choice, should the top prospects of the team not be able to make it into the team for whatever reasons.
While he's a good player, he doesn't do things the way Ronaldo does which makes it difficult to compare their performances.
The best chances of him making it to the team are arriving in the summer season while Neymar is waited for by Real Madrid.
No matter who they would be getting, it’s going to be difficult to get someone, as a lot of football enthusiasts agree on him being such a unique character, apart from being one of the strongest players, delivering from season after season that he has been playing.
It’s all about the money
The Highest earner in the team at the moment is Higuain, and this could be a problem for the team as getting him would mean having to pay him four times more than that of Higuain.
The move would for sure, be extremely hard to pull off, although it can be confirmed that Juventus is in talks with his agent.
It has been reported that Ronaldo desires a deal that would get him to earn as largely as Neymar and Messi would, but Real Madrid wasn’t into giving him what he wanted. Looking at the financial aspect of it, however, it seems that getting Ronaldo would substantially increase the salary cost of the team by close to half, from $200 million to $280 million.
This is because his pay would be twelve times greater than the average wage of the members of the said team. Despite this significant increase, it’s believed that it would be a great investment, and would trigger a positive chain reaction in the investment of probably even bigger players.
In the more recent news, the former CEO of Juventus, Luciano Moggi has said that Ronaldo is already at the starting part of the transfer stage, where the football star has already started a medical exam to be admitted into Juventus.
With this being said, there’s no doubt that having Cristiano Ronaldo in another club next season would change the balance of power in the world of football.
Knowing that he’s the best football player in the world, together with arch nemesis Lionel Messi, it’s sure that he’ll bring the club he plays for to title contention. The world just needs to wait and see how things unfold with this likely transfer.