Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers of all time. His career has been remarkable, with numerous titles and records to his name. Since starting his professional career in 2002, this Portuguese footballer has constantly proved his talent in international games. Ronaldo’s recent transfer to Saudi Club Al Nassr FC has surprised his fans as well as soccer enthusiasts around the world. Let’s explore Ronaldo’s eventful football career along with his triumphs, accolades, and milestones.
Overview of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Club Career
In his 20 years of soccer career Ronaldo has played with six different clubs and has been successful with all of them. In this section, we are going to highlight Ronaldo’s performance in clubs. Although he played for Sporting CP B and Sporting CP from 2022 to 2023, we are not covering his performance on these clubs as he did not have any significant achievements with these Portuguese clubs.
Manchester United (2003-2009)
Cristiano Ronaldo began his top-class football career in the year 2003 when he joined Manchester United, which was managed by Sir Alex Ferguson at the time. Ronaldo made an immediate impact in his first season with the club. He scored his first Premier League goal for Manchester United with a free-kick in a 3–0 win over Portsmouth on November 1. He ended the season with six goals, and he also scored the winning goal in the 2004 FA Cup Final against Millwall.
During his time at Manchester United, Ronaldo won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, one UEFA Champions League title, and one FIFA Club World Cup title. He also won the Ballon d’Or award in 2008, becoming the first-ever Manchester United player to win the prestigious award after 1968.
Real Madrid (2009-2018)
In 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo transferred to Real Madrid for a world record transfer fee of £80 million. In his first season at the club, Ronaldo scored 33 goals in all competitions and was an integral part of the team that put them in the second position with 96 points.
During his nine-year stint at Real Madrid, Ronaldo won two La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey titles, four UEFA Champions League titles, and three FIFA Club World Cup titles. He also achieved numerous individual awards, such as the Ballon d’Or awards in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017. He set a record for the most goals scored in a single La Liga season with 48 goals in the 2014-15 season.
Juventus (2018-2021)
In 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo transferred to Juventus for a transfer fee of £88 million. In his first season at the club, Ronaldo scored 28 goals in all competitions and was part of the team that won the Serie A title. He has also won the Serie A title, the Coppa Italia, and the Supercoppa Italiana during his time at Juventus. He has also been awarded the inaugural Serie A Most Valuable Player.
Manchester United (2021-2022)
Ronaldo joined Manchester United again in 2021. However, he did not have any significant achievements in the last season with Manchester. But he scored 24 goals in 39 appearances. Among these, he appeared in 7 Champion League games and scored 6 goals.
Achievements and Awards
Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved numerous awards and accolades during his illustrious career at Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus. He has won five Ballon d’Or awards, four UEFA Best Player in Europe awards, five UEFA Champions League titles, and three Premier League titles.
He has also been named FIFA Men’s Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017. And he is the all-time top scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 141 goals. He is also the all-time leading goal scorer for Real Madrid, with 451 goals in 438 appearances.
Overall, Cristiano Ronaldo has had an illustrious career with numerous achievements and awards. He has made a name for himself as one of the greatest footballers of all time. After completing his long, eventful career in Europe, Ronaldo now joined the Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr in 2022.
Ronaldo Saudi Al Nassr
Cristiano Ronaldo moves to Saudi Football Club Al Nassr (Image: Twitter)
Ronaldo Joins Saudi Club Al Nassr
The rumor had been going on for the past several weeks. In interviews just before the World Cup, it was clear that Cristiano Ronaldo would not be staying at Manchester United much longer. Cristiano Ronaldo has expressed his feeling of being “betrayed” by Manchester United, alleging that Erik Ten Hag and other higher executives are trying to push him out of the club.
Then it was heard that the destination of one of the best footballers in the world in the last decade could be the Saudi Arabian Pro League club Al Nassr. Now comes the official announcement. Al Nasser announced the signing of Ronaldo on Friday night. They signed a two-year contract with the 37-year-old star.
Several media claim that Ronaldo’s annual salary will be around $75 million dollars. According to some sources, Ronaldo’s income from Al Nassr will be €200m per year including endorsement and other commercial income. Apparently, this is the biggest salary ever in football history.
“History is in the making,” Al Nasser wrote on social media Twitter after signing up with Ronaldo. They also mentioned that this signing would inspire not only our club to great success but also the entire league. Ronaldo will also inspire our country, future generations, boys and girls, to reach the best versions of themselves. So, Saudis are welcoming him as the greatest football player indeed.
Some Facts about Al Nassr
Not many people knew Al-Nasser even a few days ago. And now that club in Saudi Arabia has moved to the top of the list of the most searched terms on Google. One Cristiano Ronaldo changed the whole face of the club.
Al Nassr is the second most successful club in the Saudi League. They won the league title 9 times. They last won the title in the 2018-19 season. Al Nasser has won Saudi Arabia’s knockout tournament, ‘The King’s Cup’ 6 times, and they last won in 1990.
Al-Nasser had 834,000 Instagram followers before Ronaldo joined. And that number increased to 2.5 million in less than 24 hours. As of January 02, the club has 6.2 million due to the Cristiano Ronaldo effect. It is certain that this number will continue to increase.
Final Words
Apart from significant achievements in Clubs, Cristiano Ronaldo is also one of the top international goal scorers with 118 goals in 196 matches. However, he has been having a bad time in the last few years. CR7 could not settle back at his beloved club Manchester United. He had to leave due to a conflict with the coach and management. Further, the coach of the national team of Portugal could not sync with Ronaldo in the World Cup either. Now, Ronaldo’s joining Saudi Club Al Nassr will surely increase the popularity of the Asian Football leagues.
Source: United News of Bangladesh