What surprises me is that some posters go on about how Ronaldo is only about goals, and even assists, and how that should count against him when we talk about the greatest footballers of all time. He was once a tricky, skilled, fast player that loved to go past players, create, but he was not that effective. Then he matured, put all those qualities and combined them with ruthless efficiency. Later on, as he started to lose some of his energy and bits of his pace, he adapted his game further to be more economical and still is more or less as efficient in terms of providing goals and assists at his physical prime. How can that count against him? Did it count against Scholes that he dropped into a deeper role when his legs didn't move as fast? He actually became a better player. What about Giggs that completely changed his game? Should we forget that he was once an electric winger that went past players for fun and created chances for his team that few others could manage?
I've seen few other players being criticised for changing his game as age starts to catch up with you. The thing about Ronaldo though, is that you think age is catching up with him, but he can still go past players and he hasn't dropped deeper to sustain his game. Instead he plays as a striker or an attacking left winger, and he still puts up the numbers. Looking at the second half yesterday, his passing is probably a little underrated as well, and his hold up play is actually great. Now he looks to bring other players into the game as well, more so than he did at his prime.
