5 ways in which Cristiano Ronaldo's playing style has evolved over the years
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players to have graced the beautiful game. He has dominated the footballing world over the past decade and a half and is still going strong. At the age of 36, Ronaldo capped off the 2020-21 season by winning the Serie A Golden Boot, scoring 29 goals from 33 league appearances.
His longevity at the very top has got a lot to do with how he has been able to evolve his game over the years. Ronaldo has played for Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. All four leagues are quite different from each other but Ronaldo has dominated all of them thanks to his versatility and ability to adapt.
Cristiano Ronaldo's greatest strengths are his ability to adapt and evolve
Age catches up with everyone. However, the very best can find ways to overcome those challenges by adding new features to enhance their game. Without further ado, let's take a look at five ways in which Cristiano Ronaldo's playing style has evolved over the years.
#5 Cristiano Ronaldo's defensive contributions have decreased
In order to become as productive and effective a player as he is at the age of 36, Cristiano Ronaldo has had to give up a lot of old habits. In his later years at Real Madrid, the Portuguese had shifted to a more forward role. He was becoming less of a ball carrier and more of a finisher.
These days, Ronaldo is far less involved on the defensive side of the game. He usually stays up to lead counter-attacks. But it's quite understandable for a player his age. The 36-year-old cannot shuttle up and down the pitch all game, week in and week out, and expect to be as effective in front of goal.
At his age, Ronaldo has had to sacrifice parts of his game in order to enhance his longevity. The tenacity he showed in making recoveries, which defined his early years, has had to take a back seat in order to facilitate more productivity on the other side of the pitch.
#4 Cristiano Ronaldo sprints and dribbles a lot less these days
In his younger years, when he was thriving at Manchester United and Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the quickest players in the game. He also had incredible dribbling ability. His quick-feet, burst of pace and incredible athleticism made him a nightmare to defend against.
In his early years at Manchester United, Ronaldo was often criticized for showboating. But his skill on the ball was undeniable even though the end product was lacking. He has changed that since and improved his productivity.
By the time he joined Real Madrid, Ronaldo was already at the top of his game. He attempted 6.2 dribbles per game in his first season with Los Blancos, and had a dribble success rate of 3.1. But a couple of seasons later, his attempted dribbles per game had dropped to 4.8 per game, of which only 1.9 were successful on average.
In his final season at Real Madrid, Ronaldo attempted just 1.9 dribbles per game. But at Juventus, Ronaldo has raised his dribbling levels by a notch and over the past year, he has averaged 1.68 successful dribbles per game.
It's still quite a departure from the Cristiano Ronaldo that we were first introduced to. His losing a yard of pace has definitely hampered his ability to take players on and beat them.