Cristiano Ronaldo is not slowing down. He is proving that age is just a number as we have always been told. This football god in human form has been pushing himself beyond limits. A lot of people have mentioned how Ronaldo wasn't a naturally born talent but a product of hard work and gym but even the talented ones if they fail to work hard on their talents, they will soon fizzle away.
There are many examples of talented players who failed to build on it and today, they have almost been forgotten. That teenage sensation under the wings of Sir Alex Ferguson named Ravel Morrison. Sir Alex rated him so highly and after bad behaviour and poor attitude to training, he was sold and he managed to find his way to West Ham but he was also dropped eventually.
I can also speak about Pato, Adriano, Mario Balotelli just to mention a few. Talent without hard work is nothing. Imagine Messi thinking since he is naturally gifted, he wouldn't bother to train? He wouldn't have maintained the height he has gotten today.
Ronaldo knows how to push himself and how to look after himself. He likes to surpass the achievement of the past season. Sometimes things might not go according to plans but he sets the bar so high that even if he falls short, he is still doing way above others.
He had his sight set on the International records for a long time and at the age of 36, he scored two goals in the dying minutes against the Republic of Ireland in Portugal colours to take his tally to 111 International Goals in 180 appearances to become the only International player with the most International Goals after beating Ali Daei of Iran who held the record for so long with 109 goals. What a phenomenal record. He scored 19 of those in friendlies, 31 in UEFA Euro Qualifiers, 14 in European Championship, 5 in UEFA Nations League, 33 in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, 7 in World Cup and 2 in FIFA Confederations Cup. Interestingly, he achieved this feat after scoring against 45 different countries. Cristiano Ronaldo seems to find motivation for every match and every opposition he comes across. What a man! What a player he is.
He is not slowing down and I believe all eyes would be on him to see what he would do in Manchester United colours. Ronaldo thrives on pressure and the expectations on his shoulders. He has done it over and over again and this is something he would relish to silence so many doubters too.
Having a player like him is good for any coach because the coach knows that he naturally instils a winning mentality and models it for other players. He knows he would teach them how to grind out results but the coach also knows that it's another headache for him as a coach because he would have to find a perfect position for him. Ronaldo has over time told most of his coaches that he is not a striker and seeing that this is where United would want him to play the most it remains to be seen which position he would be deployed.
He prefers the left side but with so many wingers in the ranks; Rashford, Sancho, Martial and Greenwood, Ronaldo might have to settle for a position up front with Cavani also in the running for that slot. Greenwood led the line so well in the 3 games he has been deployed there so this is indeed a good headache for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on how to balance his team with so many attacking players also in the rank.
Whichever position he is deployed in, there is no denying that Cristiano Ronaldo is a natural-born winner and he would add a lot to this Manchester United side. He would want to improve his 118 United goals in his first stint and he would have another record in sight after coming on the back of breaking the international records for men football. A lot of players in this United side can learn from him with his attitude to training, his winning mentality and his ability to grind out results even when he isn't on his best days. Manchester United needed a leadership figure and now they have found one. The fans are excited and waiting to see him kick his first ball for Manchester United.
Congratulations to Cristiano Ronaldo and good luck in his adventure with Manchester United. It looks like a match made in heaven and I know he would put that fear factor again to this United side who has not looked the part for a long time now.
Thank you for your time.
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