Cristiano Ronaldo made his debut as a professional footballer in 2002 for Sporting Lisbon. He has since played for three of the best clubs in the world across a career that has spanned 19 years, winning five Ballon d’Or awards in the process.
Ronaldo is currently 36 and has signed a two-year contract with Manchester United in the last few weeks, returning to the Premier League after 12 years away. The Portuguese international has won everything there is to win playing club football, and has helped his national team win the Euros as well.
During his early years at Manchester United, he was a teammate of Ole Gunnar Solskjær, and the Norwegian is now coaching Ronaldo at Old Trafford. A similar case applies to Ronaldo’s time earlier at Real Madrid, and more recently at Juventus.
He faced off against Zinedine Zidane for France in the World Cup, and was Pirlo’s opponent when the midfielder played for AC Milan, and Ronaldo was at Manchester United. He would go on to be managed by both Zidane and Pirlo. Under the Frenchman, Ronaldo would win three consecutive Champions League while at Real Madrid.
In the solitary season Pirlo was in charge, Juventus missed out on the Serie A title but won the Coppa Italia by defeating Atalanta in the finals.
While Ronaldo is still scoring goals like only he can do, he has shifted his role to a central attacker since he doesn’t play on the left wing anymore. With his clinical finishing ability, he is yet to show any signs of decline despite being closer to 40 than 30.
