Always the safest bet in football, Cristiano Ronaldo

If there would be an example of how hard work can make you the world’s best in what you do, then it has to be Cristiano Ronaldo. Diagnosed with a racing heart at an early age before he even started playing professional football, he was told to hang his boots soon after that. What was believed to be the rock bottom of his life became the bedrock of the foundation of one of the greatest players to have lived and changed the game of football forever!

The laurels:

The 33-year-old ace Portuguese left winger/striker is always on the hunt. This mentality is same with everyone who has the most expectations on themselves than others expect them to be because if you have the talent for something and you don’t push yourself to make the most of it every day, then it is a waste to that talent.

The unstoppable Portuguese star first made his appearance in a Manchester United shirt in the year 2003-2004, and since then, he fought for every goal as it is his first. That is the reason behind his achievements galore that has five Ballon d’Or awards, the first player to achieve four European Golden Shoe awards as an individual.

As a team player, he has achieved five league titles with two different clubs, four UEFA Champions League titles with two different clubs as well and one UEFA European Championship, two Copa del Rey titles, two UEFA Super Cups and three Fifa Club World Cups. His list of awards doesn’t stop here; he also holds the records for the most official scored goals in European leagues (381). That comprises his 116 goals in UEFA Champions League overall, 29 goals in UEFA European Championship and seven goals in Fifa Club World Cup among many others. He also holds the record of scoring 17 goals in a single UEFA Champions League season. In a career ranging over 17 years, he scored more than 600 career goals for both his clubs and country.

He has scored 49 hat-tricks so far, which is just one hat-trick short of the total number of hat-tricks ever scored at every world cup since 1930.

Most expensive player in the history:

Once noted down in the pages of transfer history, as the most expensive player when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid, he lives up to his expectations in every match. Yes, there are great days, and then there are worst days in life but even in the worst days if he is hitting the back of the net, like everyone else in their great days then he is better to be in his worst days. If the stats for the season 2017-18 are taken into consideration so far, Cristiano Ronaldo has appeared in 30 games and has scored 26 goals in which he scored 3 goals with headers, 10 goals with his strong foot, 6 goals with his weak foot, 6 penalties and one goal from free kick. Even in this season as well he is ahead of everyone else in becoming the top goal scorer for UEFA Champion League with Real Madrid.

For nation is the glory:

Many legendary players perform their best for their clubs but often fail to prove their mettle for their country. For CR7, it would be one of his remarkable achievements to lift the Euro Cup in 2016 even though he couldn’t play the entire 90 minutes in the final but his motivation from the sidelines, helped the other Portuguese nationals to give it all in.

The perfect bet:

If I were to bet on any footballer be it a fantasy match prediction or in real life, be it for Real Madrid or Portugal national team it would be Cristiano Ronaldo always because of the amount of effort he puts in a game and even if the results are not in his favour, he puts in more hard-work for the next match and so on and that’s why we see him scoring hat-tricks even when he is marked off as an old striker and an out of form player. Cristiano Ronaldo proves the age-old adage that form is temporary for players like him because the class is always permanent in them.

The meaningless comparisons:

When you are on the top, you are compared to everyone else all the time, and when he played for United, he was compared to United legends like Beckham and Sir Bobby Charlton, and now in Real Madrid, he was compared with Di Stephano. In his generation, he is often compared to Lionel Messi, the magician of football. Perhaps, it comes with the greatness that you would be scrutinised for every match, every goal among fans and critics alike but what they miss out on that both these football titans are not to be compared to each other or with anyone else but to be enjoyed every time they walk out of the dressing room.

For more fantasy football predictions in India, check out www.IndiaFantasy.com and stay updated!

 – Koustav Shaw