17 matches, 16 goals, 9 assists. Cristiano Ronaldo’s statistics at the beginning of the season speak for him. More generally, for 2023, the Portuguese star is on cloud nine. He is therefore one of the top scorers in the world during the calendar year with 46 goals. Crazy numbers that prove that at 38 years old, CR7 has not yet reached the top level. Even if he has clearly benefited from his time in the currently dominated Saudi Championship with Al Nassr, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has achieved the feat of once again becoming a highly credible candidate for Portuguese selection. It was not easy because he was promised international retirement.
Unlike Fernando Santos, who brought him back to the bench during the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo appeared to be at the end of his Portugal career. It was supposed to be completely transferred to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. However… new coach Roberto Martinez was unable to rule out the Portuguese permanently. This is something that would greatly displease the Seleção fans, who wanted to turn the page and focus on the attacking youth of this team with Rafael Leao, Gonzalo Ramos, Joao Felix, Bernardo Silva or Diogo Jota. But we must not bury Cristiano Ronaldo too quickly. Because since the arrival of the former Belgium coach, CR7 has been unstoppable and has failed to achieve goal after goal. “My discussion with CR7 was honest and open. I saw a player who wanted to give everything for the Seleção. It’s a private conversation, but it was very clear that Cristiano’s intention was to do what the selection required, without thinking about it.Martinez explained.
Goals and role models
This Thursday, CR7 was once again decisive for his team when he opened the scoring against Liechtenstein (2-0). The Real Madrid legend has now scored 10 goals in Euro 2024 qualifiers and is joint top scorer in the qualifiers with Romelu Lukaku. Cristiano Ronaldo also became the first player in history to score 10 goals for the national team at the age of thirty-eight. A longevity that commands respect and impresses his teammates. “When you’re young, you have a lot of energy but you keep making a lot of mistakes and learning from every experience. I always watch what Cristiano Ronaldo does, because it seems to me that he scores more goals after the age of 30 than before. This shows that it is always possible to improve …It also means that at 26 years old, you may be far from your peak and that’s what I’m hoping for.Diogo Jota explained recently.
The same story goes for his coach, who makes the most of his abilities and position as a leader. “Cristiano is in good shape. He plays a lot of minutes and scores a lot of goals with his club. He has a lot of experience in the national team, and represents a motivation and reference for the youth.. But even in good form, Cristiano Ronaldo still has to prove himself. Because even though he scored 10 goals in 8 matches, the adversity remained fairly average (Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Bosnia, Slovakia). So he is expected to face competitors of another caliber to carry his team. Or rather to help his team because the new version of CR7 can no longer do everything on his own. The person in question seems to understand this very well now. If he continues his momentum, he could be a real asset for Portugal during the upcoming Euro 2024. The goal was clearly defined by the player…
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