Five biggest losers from Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer to Juventus
Following his shocking transfer from Real Madrid to Juventus, Ronaldo will attempt to write a new chapter in his legendary career.
It is no longer news that Ronaldo sets and breaks new records wherever he goes, from Portugal with Sporting Lisbon and his national team, to England with Manchester United and Spain with Real Madrid.
It is undebatable that the Madeira native will continue that trend at Juventus and the Old Lady of Turin can look at all the positives from signing a genuine superstar despite the huge outlay to get him. The Italian champions will fancy their chances of ending their 21-year wait for Champions League glory.
Juventus have already made huge gains from the deal despite Ronaldo having yet to be unveiled by the Italian outfit, with reports emanating that the club's value increased courtesy stocks rising just by virtue of being heavily linked with Ronaldo before any official confirmation was made.
Ronaldo has evolved from being just a footballer into one of the most easily recognizable faces in the world, leading to multi-million dollar endorsements from multiple brands. Anyone associated with the Ronaldo brand gets huge rewards both on and off the pitch and with his exit from Spain goes a veritable source of income and brand exposure for Real Madrid.
The footballing world will never be the same again following this gargantuan transfer, and we take a look at the five biggest losers from the Ronaldo to Juventus transfer.
#1 Real Madrid
It is easy to argue that Real Madrid got the better deal by selling a 33-year-old player for a profit on the then world record fee they paid for him in 2009 after nine years of optimum performances for the club.
However, to opine that will be to dismiss Ronaldo's value to merely transfer figures which are not only an aberration but also an attempt to downplay his immense contributions both on and off the pitch.
Ronaldo is the second most followed person on Instagram, the most followed on Facebook, and the second overall most followed person across all social media platforms, with an endorsement by him on social media estimated to be valued in millions of dollars.
With his transfer, Real Madrid have lost arguably the most marketable player in the history of football and with him goes a large number of feverishly dedicated and loyal fans with reports emanating that the club lost over 1 million followers on Twitter in the first 24 hours of the confirmation of Ronaldo's departure.
However, Ronaldo is not just a prima donna, valued only for his marketability; the Portuguese superstar is a genuine game changer and unarguably one of the greatest footballers in the history of the game. Real Madrid have lost a proven player with a track record of delivering on the biggest stages.
Real Madrid's recent era of success, particularly in the Champions League can be attributed to Ronaldo's superhuman stats in his nine years at the club. With him goes all his goals and the ability to rise up to the occasion when it matters most.
Ronaldo's numbers at Real Madrid are well documented, with 450 goals in just 438 matches, he is their all-time leading goalscorer in all competitions, the club's top scorer in the UEFA Champions League with105 goals (120 overall), the club's leading goalscorer in La Liga (311 goals), as well as their top assist provider of all time in La Liga (85) and the UEFA Champions League(25).
To state that he is irreplaceable at Real Madrid is merely stating the obvious and even though Madrid will almost certainly sign a Galactico replacement, Ronaldo has left very huge boots at the Bernabeu that will be difficult if not impossible to fill and how Real Madrid cope in his absence is yet to be seen. However, Los Merengues' loss is the Old Lady of Turin's gain.