The annual cycle of click-bait articles and straw-grasping claims from the media are certainly in full swing just eight days into June. In what has become a tradition of sorts since 2015, several media outlets are convinced Cristiano Ronaldo will leave Real Madrid this summer. Don’t read into the claims. He won’t.
Sifting through the rumors and speculation, there is a common theme I am seeing. The sourcing from where the rumors come from is consistently vague.
Quotes such as, “a source close to the player has told ESPN FC,” or a Portuguese newspaper claiming they have the inside track on Ronaldo making an “‘irreversible’ decision to leave the Santiago Bernabéu.”
To be quite frank, it is ridiculous that these rumors continue to crop up every single summer. This is the fourth consecutive summer the media has been convinced the prolific scorer has made some decision that will “change his standing with Real Madrid forever.”
This is, of course, ridiculous considering Ronaldo is hailed as a hero at the club and will go down in history as maybe the best player to ever wear the white shirt. Simply citing a source as being close to the players means absolutely nothing.
If it was actually someone who was close to Ronaldo or was in the camp with the player and his agent, an actual name would’ve been included. Being vague just lowers the credibility of the entire piece.
Simply because Ronaldo spoke of his time at Madrid in the past tense after the Champions League Final victory does not mean he is going to leave for sure. How could it? Plus, he said, “see you next year,” at the championship celebration in the Bernabéu just a day after freaking everyone out.
After following CR7 closely for the past two years, I can say with the utmost confidence that the two things Ronaldo wants most in his footballing career are trophies and recognition from the fans that he is one of the best players to ever play the beautiful game.
Looking at the rumored landing spots for the Portuguese international, none of them make sense for Crisitano.
If he went to Paris Saint-Germain, he would get paid heavily but would have to compete with Neymar to be the star on the team. Not to mention PSG has struggled in Europe for nearly two decades straight.
I simply can’t see him in Germany with Bayern Munich because that style of football doesn’t suit him. There wouldn’t be much of a challenge domestically as Bayern can win the league every year with half effort.
Juventus also feature on the list and while Ronaldo may be respected by the Italian fans, like with Bayern, that style of football does not suit him. The Serie A is a heavily defensive league with teams electing to sit back and defend rather than attack and play quickly like in Spain.
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Plain and simple, if Ronaldo wants to stay in Europe and keep playing with a team who can make a run at the Champions League title every year, there is no better place to do it than Real Madrid.
Yes, I think Zinedine Zidane’ departure from the club has affected Ronaldo to some extent, but it won’t force him out the door.
The proof he is bound to stay is the announcement of the FIFA 19 cover featuring him in the new Real Madrid jersey. No need to fret fans, Cristiano Ronaldo will be back again for the 2018/2019 season.
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