When Cristiano Ronaldo was frantically knocking on the doors of the major European teams to offer his services, it was heartbreaking to see each club politely say “no, thank you,” which bordered on sympathy.
Seeing how far one of the greatest footballers of all time would go to play a few more Champions League games in order to boost his individual numbers was undoubtedly not an inspiring spectacle.
He didn’t mind bypassing Manchester United, one of his career’s most notable teams and the place where he made the transition to the top of the globe by joining Real Madrid, in order to accomplish his aim.
No one should be shocked by this, though, since Cristiano has always been in a class by himself.
The Portuguese forward’s inability to accept his inevitable, natural sporting decline at the age of 37 is evident. When the time comes for the great athletic icons to step aside or retire, that is what occurs.
And it’s not quite fair to say that he’s declined in light of his performances from previous season. His statistics still put him ahead of other athletes of his generation like Neymar, Antoine Griezmann, and Lionel Messi. He was also much above the mediocrity that has characterized the Red Devils for a number of years with 24 goals in 39 appearances.
Even if the numbers are impressive, they are worldly. And with those figures, investing in Cristiano is no longer profitable. Not in terms of money, regardless of how much he agrees to cut his enormous income, and not in terms of athletic performance.
The finest illustration of this is how horribly he handled his wish to leave for a Champions League club, confronting his coach while oblivious to his teammates and supporters.
Cristiano was probably prepared to give up status perks but not income. Above all, Cristiano will never compromise his character or inflated ego. He became a huge footballer capable of looking Messi in the eye because of his ambition.
The fact that Cristiano, who for so many years was a solution to practically everything, has now turned into a problem is painful to witness.
