Cristiano Ronaldo - Much Ado About Al Nassr

[General_Elegancia]

There is another record that if he wants to do it, he can do it. Right now, he is number 6 of the most appearances players in the history of this sport. He could be at the top3 if he decides to play until he 40. At this moment, Ronaldo has more appearances than Buffon, Maldini, Giggs, Zanetti, and Xavi.

I'm not that weird one of the reasons why he declines so rapidly. Although he is only 38 years old, he has already played over 1100 games in his professional career. At this stage, you wouldn't know what days you become a liability, or couldn't do like you had ever done before. Outside of his playing style which requires a lot of athleticism everyone has already mentioned before, he also has big problems with his famous knee condition, which affects some important parts of his games like dribbling or knuckle shooting, and his knee condition has become worse and worse every day.

My crucial point is that his number of appearances( 1183 games) directly affects his decline for sure. Combine with other factors like his decline in terms of athleticism, and didn't appear in pre-season ( relevant), it costs him. Compare Ronaldo to Ibrahimovic, Ibrahimovic has a big advantage in that his holding-up skill as a target man is world-class, and it extends his career at this stage.

 

[berbatrick]

The question is, how come he's regressed so much despite taking care of himself so well?

Giggs, Zlatan and a few others managed to play at a high level at a similar age and Modric is still playing for Madrid at 37.

I think his strengths were more physical than for Giggs or Modric. Anticipating a cross and moving a second before the defender, timing a jump, getting a tiny bit of space for a shot with power and pace over the defender- he looks like has reacts much slower to everything now. That's why so many times he gets close but misses a cross, or getting tackled *just* before the shot, or rushing it and missing.
And he doesn't have other insane skills to fall back on.

Zlatan has also totally collapsed this season and wasn't great last season. I think he had 1-2 long injuries, maybe it kept him fresh at least till 2021. Ronaldo seems to have had zero break since 2007.

 

[Ladron de redcafe]

The question is, how come he's regressed so much despite taking care of himself so well?

Giggs, Zlatan and a few others managed to play at a high level at a similar age and Modric is still playing for Madrid at 37.

Giggs at the same age was lighting up the Champions League in the KO rounds while being arguably United's best performer en route to the Champions League semi final. If I recall correctly, he scored or assisted every United goal in the KO stages besides the ones in the 2nd leg of the semis when Ferguson played a weakened team with the tie against Shalke all done and dusted.

At 39, he was still performing at a better player for United than Ronaldo was at 37.

 

[Joga Bonito]

Modric could lose the complete ability to play football by July

 

[Salt Bailly]

Crazy that Fabio's that high up yet Rafael is hundreds of appearances behind.

 

[Ladron de redcafe]

Yeah couldn't believe I was reading that. It's almost a parody at times, but the usual suspects

 

[Pexbo]

It’s like he’s been space jammed.

 

[ForeverRed1]

Whatever he did he would have been critiqued for. He goes to a European team, doesn’t set the world alight like he used to, gets ridiculed. He goes to Saudi for one last pay cheque at 37 years old and he’s a sell out. This guy has one of the greatest in the game for the last 15 years. I don’t like how it ended at united and I don’t particularly love him as a character but he deserves one last swan song. I hope he has a good experience for himself and his family out in Saudi, he deserves it. I think everything changed when he lost his kid, not an excuse, he just wasn’t the same after that.

 

[jm99]

The thing that some Cristiano fanboys fail to grasp when they defend his move to Saudi is that the criticism he is getting is not about moving into semi retirement in Saudi. Absolutely not. It is how he has behaved since around July last year culminating into this move. You'd think he had offers from some European giants. He is rightfully a laughing stock right now.

One of the all time greats but overrated by his social media fans and some media personnel, never good enough to be a true candidate.

You mean roughly around the time that his child died? While I wouldn't defend his behaviour this season, I don't think it would be unusual for someone to act badly in the period of time following their child's death

 

[jm99]

Giggs at the same age was lighting up the Champions League in the KO rounds while being arguably United's best performer en route to the Champions League semi final. If I recall correctly, he scored or assisted every United goal in the KO stages besides the ones in the 2nd leg of the semis when Ferguson played a weakened team with the tie against Shalke all done and dusted.

At 39, he was still performing at a better player for United than Ronaldo was at 37.

I mean I've seen your posts in threads and genuinely you'd think Ronaldo had murdered a family member or something, absolutely deranged level of hatred, its one thing to prefer Messi or dislike what he's done this season but it seems to be an actual visceral hatred.

Anyone who says giggs was great that season didn't watch us. He had good passing ability, but I was watching every week and without fail when Scholes or giggs would start in the 2012-13 season we would get overrun in midfield, then we'd end up making a comeback once they were substituted off. Scholes was a big help when he came back at the end of the previous season but by this season both he and giggs were total liabilities in midfield

 

[cyberman]

We have scored 26 goals in 11 since the restart.
How we miss him..

 

[jm99]

We have scored 26 goals in 11 since the restart.
How we miss him..

While he's definitely not been missed this season, some of the other players have to take responsibility, particularly regarding last season. Now you could argue Ronaldo not pressing or whatever affected our attack, but rashford at times last season looked like a competition winner, that wasn't Ronaldo's fault. Martial was so bad he was sent out on loan when we were limited in attacking options.

 

[meamth]

The problem with Ronaldo is he still playing like he still has that lightning quick feet, it became a meme clown feet.

 

[jm99]

The problem with Ronaldo is he still playing like he still has that lightning quick feet, it became a meme clown feet.

I think the biggest issue that people don't really think about is that you don't need to decline that much physically for it to completely ruin your game. If you've played for 15 years knowing the weight of a touch you need to take the ball past someone, it's going to be difficult to adjust when you can't run as fast and you need to play it slightly differently. You're used to being able to time your runs in a certain way. Muscle memory can be difficult to change

 

[genardk]

You mean roughly around the time that his child died? While I wouldn't defend his behaviour this season, I don't think it would be unusual for someone to act badly in the period of time following their child's death

The guy insulted Xavi for playing in Qatar years ago saying his views are irrelevant. He said many times he would never go to Middle East etc. as he prefers to compete at the top. The guy is a first-class narcissistic prick. That tragic event has zero connection with his personality, that Piers interview for ex. has everything to do with his toxic personality. Tragically losing his child is just a very useful tool still used by some of his fans to justify his behavior, the problem is nobody buys that anymore..

 

[jm99]

The guy insulted Xavi for playing in Qatar years ago saying his views are irrelevant. He said many times he would never go to Middle East etc. as he prefers to compete at the top. The guy is a first-class narcissistic prick. That tragic event has zero connection with his personality, that Piers interview for ex. has everything to do with his toxic personality. Tragically losing his child is just a very useful tool still used by some of his fans to justify his behavior, the problem is nobody buys that anymore..

I'm not suggesting he wasn't at times at arrogant prick during his career, but up until the end of last season he wasn't like this. Either in terms of footballing ability or attitude, I think it's that combined with difficulty accepting his decline. But to pretend an event like losing your child wouldn't affect your mental state for the next period of time is just plain wrong

 

[Glorio]

The question is, how come he's regressed so much despite taking care of himself so well?

Giggs, Zlatan and a few others managed to play at a high level at a similar age and Modric is still playing for Madrid at 37.

His style has mainly been about power and explosiveness. Even the natural magic he had as a youngster got sacrificed for pure power and efficiency. Without that physical peak, he doesn't have much left

 

[FrankFoot]

To be fair Modric is looking a shadow of himself this season already never mind when he catches Ronaldos age up

Modric has looked washed for a while too.

His performance against Argentina in WC was underwhelming, young Modric would have toyed with Fernandez.

Eventually he has the occasional good game, but very rare given his age.

 

[FrankFoot]

You can speculate all you want, but Modric right now is playing at a high level. He played at a high level at Madrid and did so at the world cup carrying Croatia to the semi finals (where, just as he always does, Ronaldo was nowhere to he seen).

Likewise, disagreeing with me doesn't make you right, genius. Take your Ronaldo homerism somewhere else.

Its clear youo haven't watched any Madrid matches over the past year, but carry on embarrassing yourself.

Sorry, i love Modric, but this is bullshit.

Modric was far from high level in 2022 WC.

His games against Argentina,Morocco in group stage, and Belgium were terrible, he only looked good against Canada and Japan.

Young Modric would have toyed with Enzo Fernandez, but he got completely overrun by Belgium and Argentina midfield...and Croatia was lucky that Lukaku was Lukaku, and missed sitters that could have knocked out Croatia.
That's without mentioning that Brazil also overrun Croatia midfield since the second half until the penalties.

At Madrid now he is looking like his age, and Real midfield is getting overrun even when scratching wins thanks to Benzema, Vinicius ,and Valverde.

 

[Bert_]

There is another record that if he wants to do it, he can do it. Right now, he is number 6 of the most appearances players in the history of this sport. He could be at the top3 if he decides to play until he 40. At this moment, Ronaldo has more appearances than Buffon, Maldini, Giggs, Zanetti, and Xavi.

I'm not that weird one of the reasons why he declines so rapidly. Although he is only 38 years old, he has already played over 1100 games in his professional career. At this stage, you wouldn't know what days you become a liability, or couldn't do like you had ever done before. Outside of his playing style which requires a lot of athleticism everyone has already mentioned before, he also has big problems with his famous knee condition, which affects some important parts of his games like dribbling or knuckle shooting, and his knee condition has become worse and worse every day.

My crucial point is that his number of appearances( 1183 games) directly affects his decline for sure. Combine with other factors like his decline in terms of athleticism, and didn't appear in pre-season ( relevant), it costs him. Compare Ronaldo to Ibrahimovic, Ibrahimovic has a big advantage in that his holding-up skill as a target man is world-class, and it extends his career at this stage.

Never heard of Paul Bastock before. According to Wiki he's 52 years old and currently playing for Boston United

 

[Tarrou]

There is another record that if he wants to do it, he can do it. Right now, he is number 6 of the most appearances players in the history of this sport. He could be at the top3 if he decides to play until he 40. At this moment, Ronaldo has more appearances than Buffon, Maldini, Giggs, Zanetti, and Xavi.

I'm not that weird one of the reasons why he declines so rapidly. Although he is only 38 years old, he has already played over 1100 games in his professional career. At this stage, you wouldn't know what days you become a liability, or couldn't do like you had ever done before. Outside of his playing style which requires a lot of athleticism everyone has already mentioned before, he also has big problems with his famous knee condition, which affects some important parts of his games like dribbling or knuckle shooting, and his knee condition has become worse and worse every day.

My crucial point is that his number of appearances( 1183 games) directly affects his decline for sure. Combine with other factors like his decline in terms of athleticism, and didn't appear in pre-season ( relevant), it costs him. Compare Ronaldo to Ibrahimovic, Ibrahimovic has a big advantage in that his holding-up skill as a target man is world-class, and it extends his career at this stage.

that keeper in 3rd place has more career goals than Andy Carroll wtf

 

[jm99]

that keeper in 3rd place has more career goals than Andy Carroll wtf

He was the one that always took penalties wasn't he? Can't remember if he took free kicks as well

 

[Jericho]

Whatever he did he would have been critiqued for. He goes to a European team, doesn’t set the world alight like he used to, gets ridiculed. He goes to Saudi for one last pay cheque at 37 years old and he’s a sell out. This guy has one of the greatest in the game for the last 15 years. I don’t like how it ended at united and I don’t particularly love him as a character but he deserves one last swan song. I hope he has a good experience for himself and his family out in Saudi, he deserves it. I think everything changed when he lost his kid, not an excuse, he just wasn’t the same after that.

He wouldn't be ridiculed near as much if he'd managed to show an ounce of humility.

 

[General_Elegancia]

He was the one that always took penalties wasn't he? Can't remember if he took free kicks as well

https://thesefootballtimes.co/2019/07/26/rogerio-ceni-the-goalkeeper-who-scored-132-goals/

Yes, Ceni always took both penalties and free kick. However, he scored 1 open goal in his career too.

*Some sources have his records as 132 goals.

 

[meamth]

He wouldn't be ridiculed near as much if he'd managed to show an ounce of humility.

And also choosing Piers Morgan as his "friend".

 

[Ladron de redcafe]

I mean I've seen your posts in threads and genuinely you'd think Ronaldo had murdered a family member or something, absolutely deranged level of hatred, its one thing to prefer Messi or dislike what he's done this season but it seems to be an actual visceral hatred.

Anyone who says giggs was great that season didn't watch us. He had good passing ability, but I was watching every week and without fail when Scholes or giggs would start in the 2012-13 season we would get overrun in midfield, then we'd end up making a comeback once they were substituted off. Scholes was a big help when he came back at the end of the previous season but by this season both he and giggs were total liabilities in midfield

I have seen your posts and I genuinely think Ronaldo is your father judging my your staunch fanboysim. Nobody mentioned Messi here but you. Its a Ronaldo thread, but your visceral hatred ond obsession with Messi makes seems to make you bring him up even when he isn't mentioned, everytime you wish to deflect from criticism of your God.

Now, I have no idea what you're on about because the vitriol within you seems to have impacted your reading comprehension. That entire first paragraph was about Giggs at the same age (37) which was the 2010-2011 season. We most definitely did not get overrun in every big match with him. In fact, he was the best performer in a midfield of 2 in both Chelsea matches in April (UCL quarters and the title decider). I watched every second of that season and nobody who claims to have watched can write the drivel you came up with.

As far as the 2012-2013 season (try to pay attention here), he was still at a better level than the abject failure that Ronaldo was the 2022-23 season. Nobody who watched both would dispute that.

 

[Ladron de redcafe]

While he's definitely not been missed this season, some of the other players have to take responsibility, particularly regarding last season. Now you could argue Ronaldo not pressing or whatever affected our attack, but rashford at times last season looked like a competition winner, that wasn't Ronaldo's fault. Martial was so bad he was sent out on loan when we were limited in attacking options.

Yes, it is a huge coincidence how everyone suddenly dipped in form the moment Ronaldo arrived. Must be it!

Rashford going from 34 and 37 goal contributions in the season prior to him coming, suddenly becoming "a competition winner" then immediately becoming world class again has absolutely nothing to do with Ronaldo. Nothing here to see.

 

[Cascarino]

@Gehrman You always made the argument that the Messi Ronaldo thread shouldn't have been closed because it would inevitably spill out to other threads as a result, and while I thought that thread was awful and just the worst, I do think you've been proven correct in that assessment

 

[Kopral Jono]

Often overlooked as a major contributor to Ronaldo's pathetic downfall is his proximity to sycophantic family members and all sorts of yes men who never fail to feed his ego and desires.

 

[Mindhunter]

I'd mainly blame Ed Woodward and the other clueless business men who were the ones that appointed him. Ferguson is in honorary position and doesn't or didn't have to power to appoint managers.

Not really. He was the outgoing "greatest club manager" ever and would have had disproportionate amount of influence in finding his replacement. He was a miracle worker for the Glazers, keeping us competitive on a shoestring during those early days of the ownership, and they wanted to continue that model. Given SAFs knowledge of the game, it was a huge mistake on his part to believe that someone who didn't win a single away game against top 4 opposition would suddenly become competent enough to lead a club like us. He was wrong and horribly so.

 

[Mindhunter]

Often overlooked as a major contributor to Ronaldo's pathetic downfall is his proximity to sycophantic family members and all sorts of yes men who never fail to feed his ego and desires.

It is the other way round actually. It always happens to people with huge egos that they get surrounded by sycophants mostly because only the "yes men" remain. The well wishers who hold a mirror in front are cut-out of the group because they don't feed the monster.

 

[Lebo]

For a moment there he was reminded of that trick vs Arsenal when he was the best player in the world, only to realize he is now in South Africa and snapped out of it, it obviously threw him off and gave the ball away. Not his fault

why is my country catching stray bullets in this thread ?

 

[mshnsh]

You mean roughly around the time that his child died? While I wouldn't defend his behaviour this season, I don't think it would be unusual for someone to act badly in the period of time following their child's death

He lost his child in April. If he had started behaving badly at the time, would've been understandable. Truth is that he wanted to move in the summer because we were no longer in the champions league. He stayed because no offers came in. When he was benched because of his poor form, he couldn't take it and wanted to leave once again hence the interview to engineer a move out.

In his mind he probably expected himself to boss the world cup than there would be an avalanche of offers but that ended quite badly. His ego meant that he had to sign for a club offering the biggest pay cheque so he can claim to be a "unique player".

 

[That_Bloke]

Giggs at the same age was lighting up the Champions League in the KO rounds while being arguably United's best performer en route to the Champions League semi final. If I recall correctly, he scored or assisted every United goal in the KO stages besides the ones in the 2nd leg of the semis when Ferguson played a weakened team with the tie against Shalke all done and dusted.

At 39, he was still performing at a better player for United than Ronaldo was at 37.

Seek help. Really.

I can't stand C. Ronaldo, but I've never seen someone like you. There are Messi fanboys and then there's you. Your obsession and hatred for Ronaldo borders on a pathological level.

 

[Ladron de redcafe]

Seek help. Really.

I can't stand C. Ronaldo, but I've never seen someone like you. There are Messi fanboys and then there's you. Your obsession and hatred for Ronaldo borders on a pathological level.

If you can't address the content of a post without frothing at the mouth and spouting insults, don't bother. Nobody brought in Messi besides you. Someone mentioned Giggs' longevity and I addressed that. If you disagree, feel free to state your point, rather than lash out like a child, as usual.

Take your own advice and seek help.

 

[giorno]

@Gehrman You always made the argument that the Messi Ronaldo thread shouldn't have been closed because it would inevitably spill out to other threads as a result, and while I thought that thread was awful and just the worst, I do think you've been proven correct in that assessment

It's generally the usual suspects too. We should petition the mods to just threadban certain posters from any and all messi/ronaldo threads

 

[Gehrman]

@Gehrman You always made the argument that the Messi Ronaldo thread shouldn't have been closed because it would inevitably spill out to other threads as a result, and while I thought that thread was awful and just the worst, I do think you've been proven correct in that assessment

Yeah open the thread and then members who's weary of it can put it on ignore.

 

[IhabX7]

If you can't address the content of a post without frothing at the mouth and spouting insults, don't bother. Nobody brought in Messi besides you. Someone mentioned Giggs' longevity and I addressed that. If you disagree, feel free to state your point, rather than lash out like a child, as usual.

Take your own advice and seek help.

It has nothing to do with the debate mate, this can’t be healthy. If you don’t want our opinion that’s also fine, but many people took the time to bring this up to your attention because it’s abnormal behavior.

 

[Ladron de redcafe]

It has nothing to do with the debate mate, this can’t be healthy. If you don’t want our opinion that’s also fine, but many people took the time to bring this up to your attention because it’s abnormal behavior.

Again, it is supposed to be about the debate, which is the point you're missing. It's a Ronaldo thread so the discussion is about him. The ad populum you cited is as misguided as the emotional conspiracy theories by you about the referees wanting Argnetina to win during the world cup.

If you want to discuss the thread topic (or the post, which was a comparison between Giggs at the age of 37 and Ronaldo this year), go ahead.

I'm not really interested in your or his opinion of my posts.

 

[IhabX7]

Again, it is supposed to be about the debate, which is the point you're missing. It's a Ronaldo thread so the discussion is about him. Personal insults by people who randomly bring in Messi in a Ronaldo thread whenever they're frothing at the mouth because Ronaldo is being criticised is just silly. And that is where the abnormal behaviour is.

If you want to discuss the thread topic (or the post, which was a comparison between Giggs at the age of 37 and Ronaldo this year), go ahead.

I'm not really interested in your or his opinion of my posts. You have an ignore button to use if you don't like reading them.

It’s up to you of course. Not gonna bother you.