Cristiano Ronaldo: What’s Next?

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Arguably, still the best player in the world, Christiano Ronaldo has delighted and dazzled fans for around seventeen years. However, his time at the top is soon coming to an end. Recently turning thirty six, the man himself has alluded to stepping back into retirement when the time is right. He’s still probably the first name on the team sheet at Juventus and competes at the top level in the Champions League. But what’s next for the Ballon D’or winner? In truth no one actually knows of course, only the man himself. But from a speculation point of view, there are multiple options available to him.

Stay At Juventus

Italian football, though with its fierce rivalries at the top, is known for its slower pace of football than that in England and even Spain. It means players tend to be able to play for longer. The football scores aren’t really any lower, and the games are just as exciting. But look at Totti, and how long he lasted at Roma, or Zlatan Ibrahimovic still playing at 39 as a striker for AC Milan. Ronaldo could easily play for longer as an out and out striker, even if he moved to another Italian team down the line. With that said, he’s still probably the best player at Juventus and won the title in 2020, if not the best player in the whole league. Staying would be a perfectly logical option.

Another Top Flight Team

Ronaldo has won league titles in England with Manchester United, Spain, with Real Madrid and Italy with Juventus. This only leaves Germany and France left and he still has time to bag one of them. There has been rumours of a potential move to Paris St Germain, where in all likelihood he could pick up another league trophy adding further silverware to his vast collection. He could also move to Germany of course, but that league is a little more open…even though Bayern are the favourites each year. Some say that he might be a little too expensive for certain clubs in other high profile leagues. Especially with FFP to consider. Yet, the shirt sales alone will probably pay for his wages and the high profile nature of the player will pull in more supporters in terms of ticket sales (when allowed) but also more viewers via TV bringing in more advertisement. It would make sense for all parties. 

A Trip To The MLS

Another favourite of aging european footballers is to jet over the Atlantic and to play in the MLS. High profile players like David Bechham, Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe have all played overseas. For someone like Ronaldo it’s a great shout…he still gets to play football in a competitive league with the chance to add another trophy to his cabinet while building on his brand and marketing himself ready for retirement. The CR7 brand is known globally and he has previously stated that going into business upon retirement might be the logical choice for him. A trip to the MLS beforehand might just boost his stock and improve brand awareness in a place which could turn out to be extremely lucrative.

No Place Like Home

Portugal has a great league of its own and Ronaldo might be tempted to go home, back to his roots and play for Sporting CP where it all began. He might consider another of Portugal’s top teams too like Porto. With that said, he’s played in Portugal before and might want to play somewhere else to try something else out. Just don’t write it off. Going home to play before retirement can often be quite a powerful thing to do. A lot of Argentian players tend to do it and Portugal has a far more competitive league with teams who have once won the champions league. 

Into Management

Ronaldo has said that management doesn’t appeal to him, but that changed during Portugal’s famous win over France in the European cup in 2016. Injured early on, Ronaldo clung to the touchline hollering at his teammates and helping them on to victory. It’s certainly something he has an appetite for, and his attitude and drive is something which has proved infectious no matter what club he’s at. Something which of course translates well into management. Ronaldo’s ego may hold him back here. It’s whether or not he wants to put time into learning the management side of the game and getting his licenses before grafting at lesser known teams before making the jump with a bigger team.

Written by @SamiONTap

The Co-Founder of the Sports ON Tap & Found every where @SamiONTap. All Things Seattle Sports + Doing Seattle Sports for @SeattleONTap aka Sports ON Tap Seattle.