5 players who can replace Ronaldo at Real Madrid
On Tuesday, when the whole world was busy previewing the semi-final between France and Belgium, it was officially announced that Cristiano Ronaldo had finally moved to Juventus. According to reports, Juventus paid €100 million for the signing the 33-year-old from Real Madrid. Since his transfer from Manchester United in 2009, Ronaldo enjoyed staggering success at Real Madrid in the 9 seasons, helping the club to win 16 trophies including 4 UEFA Champions League title, including a hat-trick of titles in the last 3 seasons under Frenchman Zinedine Zidane. He has also won 2 La Ligas and 2 Copa Del Rays. His role in these victories also helped win a lot of individual accolades. The Portuguese Forward had won 4 Ballon D'ors since moving to Real Madrid in 2009.
But over the last season, there were continuous reports from the Spanish capital that Ronaldo was unhappy with his salary. Since Neymar's move to Paris Saint Germain last summer, he was the highest paid player in the world and Leo Messi too, earned close to Neymar after his contract renewal with FC Barcelona last year. Real Madrid were reluctant to increase Ronaldo's salary and hence he made the decision to move away from the Spanish Capital.
But now the onus is on Real Madrid's board to replace the player of Ronaldo's stature. It will be a tough task for the Los Blancos considering the 33-year-old's record for the club and the impact he had on his opponents. We look at the 5 players who have proved their calibre for the club and country and may be signed by Real Madrid to fill the huge boots of the club record goalscorer.
#1 Neymar
The Paris Saint Germain Winger who moved to France for a world record fee from FC Barcelona last season is the most likely player to replace Ronaldo at Real Madrid. Real Madrid President Florentino Perez has a dream to get Neymar’s signature at Real Madrid. Neymar's style of play on the Left Wing is similar to Ronaldo's style a few years back. This makes the Brazilian likely to move back to Spain this year.
In the 2017-18 season, Neymar was in red-hot form, scoring 30 goals and setting up 18 for club and country in just 34 appearances. These stats are more valuable as his season was cut short by a fracture in the right foot which ended his season in February itself.