It’s not been a particularly a good few months for the world’s best player. In 630 minutes of La Liga football, the 32-year-old has only scored 1 goal, equating to an abysmal shot conversion ratio of 2.08%. With that goal drought, several rumours have emerged about Cristiano Ronaldo leaving for greener pastures. Apparently, he’s unhappy with a number of things, and the goal drought has only further compounded his unhappiness. Cristiano Ronaldo’s move away from Real Madrid would be blockbuster news for the whole footballing world. Â
Here are the implications of Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid. Â
Why is Cristiano Ronaldo unhappy at Real Madrid?
Well, first of all, regardless of where he is, Cristiano Ronaldo is never happy when he’s not scoring. Many believe that the 32-year-old would instead score a hat-trick and lose than not score and win. To make things worse, while Ronaldo has only scored 1 in 7, his arch-rival Lionel Messi has bagged 12 in 11. With the Balon d’Or ceremony just around the corner, this form must be really playing with Ronaldo’s mind.
It’s reported that Cristiano Ronaldo is also unhappy that the supposed ‘biggest’ club couldn’t stump up the cash for Neymar. He’s disappointed that Los Blancos didn’t make a Galactico signing to build upon last year’s unprecedented success. Now that he’s in poor form, the pressure on his shoulders is greater than it would have been if Zinedine Zidane had just spent the money he should have.
Thirdly, the best player in the world also feels he’s been unfairly treated by officials in Spain. He labelled his five-game ban earlier in the season as ‘one more incomprehensible decision’ by officials in La Liga against him. Just to further compound that, the Portuguese captain felt he was unnecessarily harassed by the law over his taxes, taxes he claims to have paid.
What if?
If Cristiano Ronaldo leaves the Bernabéu this summer, a huge chunk of Real Madrid’s commerciality goes with him. The multiple time Balon d’Or winner approximately has a net worth of $400million. His numbers speak for themselves; the Portuguese superstar has 115million followers on Instagram, 63.9million on Twitter and a 122million on Facebook. He’s a pop culture phenomenon that has only boosted the profile of Los Blancos.
Away from the business side of things, Cristiano Ronaldo’s influence on the pitch has been second to none. Since arriving in Madrid eight years ago, the 32-year-old has scored 401 goals in 368 games, that’s extra-terrestrial levels of form. There are not many players in world football, besides Lionel Messi, that can replicate such form in such a demanding environment. He’s been the face of the club on the pitch and off it, so if Cristiano Ronaldo leaves, Madrid would have to find a clinical goalscorer with the marketability of a celebrity.
Where could he go?
There are only a handful of clubs in the world that could afford the price tag of Cristiano Ronaldo, alongside his wages. If the 32-year-old were to leave the Bernabéu, only Paris Saint-Germain or Manchester United would be realistic options.
