What Lies Ahead for Cristiano Ronaldo’s Career?

Cristiano Ronaldo has expressed his desire to leave Old Trafford when this Summer ends. Multiple sources have reported that his manager has been selling the "Cristiano effect" to various clubs over the last few days. With a dossier of the various sponsors, fields of influence in social networks, the player is an offer that several of the most powerful clubs in the world cannot refuse.

In fact, the first offers for the 37-year-old player are already beginning to be heard. Last month, for example, one of the owners of Chelsea met with Jorge Mendes, the representative of CR7, in a talk in which they allegedly discussed his future with the English team. Other teams that have apparently shown interest in the Portuguese include Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Napoli.

What happens is that Cristiano has not had the best of times playing for Manchester United. Leaving aside the multiple times he has expressed his dissatisfaction with the current situation and performance of the team, last season they accumulated the fewest points in their history in the Premier League, despite the 24 goals that CR7 accumulated in all competitions.

What would happen if Cristiano goes to Chelsea?

To begin with, Manchester United would be left very badly planted. Ronaldo's short notice of his decision to leave puts them in a very awkward position, as they must rush to find a suitable replacement striker before the season gets underway.

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On the other hand, the final decision to sign the 5-time Ballon D'Or winner at Chelsea is entirely up to Thomas Tuchel, the manager of this team, who has to define whether the 37-year-old fits into his game plan. Considering that Manchester see Chelsea as a direct rival in their Champions League qualification, this also complicates things.

The twilight of a career?

Although it is true that Cristiano is one of the best soccer player in history, his market value has been in decline in recent years, due to a factor that no one can avoid: age.

If it is true that Ronaldo moves huge contracts due to his brand presence and fame, at this moment, sites like Transfermarkt rank him at number 195 in terms of his value as a player worldwide. What's more, Ronaldo's market value has been in decline since 2018, when he played one of his last seasons with Real Madrid.

The player has expressed multiple times that he wants to compete for a Champions League title again and that he is willing to cut his salary considerably if he can get a chance to join a contending team. Considering his age, the next couple of years could be his last chance to get anywhere near this title.