When will Ronaldo's time officially end?
This question has been asked for many years now but the answer remains a mystery. Ronaldo's ability to overcome his limits and reinvent himself is unique.
While Lionel Messi has 11 goals in La Liga, Cristiano Ronaldo is still searching for his first goal. And 5 rounds ago, the Argentine superstar was firmly in the top scorer position with 20 goals, CR7 was far behind. He only had 8 goals.
If someone accidentally got lost in the jungle during the past month, they would be surprised when they came out. In just 28 days and 5 matches, Ronaldo jumped to 3rd place (18 total) in the Pichichi race after scoring 10 goals in a row. At the same time, Messi only had 4. The Ronaldo - Messi competition is open again, like every year.
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| Ronaldo made a miraculous sprint to rank 3rd on the Pichichi list with 18 goals, 24 goals behind Messi (partly because he played 5 fewer matches). |
In the last 10 matches in all competitions, Real's star has scored 17 goals (and 3 assists), finding the opponent's net every 51 minutes on average.
A few days ago, Ronaldo set a record of scoring in 9 consecutive Champions League matches. Now he is extending his scoring streak to 7 consecutive matches. His scoring form is too terrible. And more special, it happened in the first month of his 33rd birthday.
Now, who says Ronaldo is over? The accusation of age-related slowness is ridiculous after seeing his opener against Eibar. A lightning-fast sprint, neat chest control of Luka Modric's 20-yard pass and a powerful finish, all in the space of three seconds.
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| CR7 celebrated by pointing to his ear, an act of defiance towards critics. |
Or midweek at the Parc des Princes, Ronaldo showed no signs of ageing after his sprint, leap into the air and then thunderous header against PSG. It was no different to the spectacular leaps he has made in the past, such as against Manchester United at 28, or at 31 against Wales.
On Saturday night, Zinedine Zidane hailed Ronaldo as “a special player” and “from another galaxy”. Perhaps the Frenchman was right. It is hard to explain why CR7 was so brilliant, so explosive at an age when Raul Gonzalez scored just seven goals, Ruud van Nistelrooy struggled to score 10, and then both left Real.
Everyone should not forget that Ronaldo had his worst start to a season since joining Los Blancos, that he needed 28 shots to score his first La Liga goal, and that his conversion rate after eight games was a shameful 1.8%.
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| Zidane praised Ronaldo as “a special player” and “from another galaxy”. |
But it was this dark period that highlighted Ronaldo's brilliance. He fought and triumphed over age with great success. CR7's ability to overcome limitations and reinvent himself is truly astonishing and unique.
In the last 10 matches, Ronaldo scored 17 goals and had 65 shots. His 26.1% success rate is even the highest in the last 7 seasons, which only fluctuated between 14-18%. They said CR7's time was over, and he introduced an unusually good version of CR7.
In 2003, 18-year-old Ronaldo debuted with a “half-part” haircut. After 15 years, he returned to that hairstyle as a reminder that this is still the same Ronaldo, full of energy and a desire to conquer. If anything, the 33-year-old Ronaldo is more experienced, wiser and scores goals more easily.
When will Ronaldo's time officially end? Until now, the answer remains a mystery.
Ronaldo currently has 303 goals in La Liga, but is still behind Messi's record of 373 goals. However, in terms of scoring efficiency, CR7 is far superior to his rival. He scores an average of 1.05 goals/match, while M10's is 0.91.
