Julius OkorieAl-Nassr strong man and Portugal international Cristiano Ronaldo is no doubt one of the most accomplished footballer in the world.
The Portugal captain, who clocks 40 in February next year, boasts of numerous awards, garnered in the course of his 32-year-romance with the round leather game.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIt is safe to say that the former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward has won virtually everything there is to win in football.
With five Ballon d’Or titles in the kitty, he also boasts of 33 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League just to pick a few from his collections.
CR7 as he is popularly called, in recognition of his permanent number seven shirt in all the clubs he has played and also the national team, Ronaldo has moved from just being a contender in football to record setter and record breaker.
With 112.6 million followers on X, 170m on Facebook and a record-setting 636m on Instagram Ronaldo appears to be in a world of his own, but alas he has a rival in Argentina’s Lionel Messi who aside from accumulating awards, is also a record setter and breaker.
Their age-long rivalry has made it inevitable to constantly compare notes or if you like look across the fence to see what each player is doing at every point in time.
Missing World Cup Title
As both players continue to run neck to neck in their record setting and record breaking project, one major edge which Lionel has is winning the world Cup.
The Argentina Captain and eight time Ballon d’Or winner lead his country to victory at the last world cup in Qatar after defeating defending champions in the final. With four Champions League victory with Barcelona and like Ronaldo with numerous awards, the world cup title stands out as a major edge over his Portugal rival.
Should Messi who currently plies his trade with Major League side Major League Soccer club Inter Miami retires today, he will be doing so with every known title in the kitty. Should Ronaldo on the other hand do so today, he will be doing so with every known title in the kitty, less the big one, the World Cup title.
Both players have been tipped to retire a couple of times but that never materialised rather they kept waxing strong and improving with every new season leaving their fans to jettison speculation to just watch and enjoy their exploits as they things unfold.
Though Ronaldo is seen as a better player having featured in all the leagues three out of the five popular leagues namely English premier league by virtue of playing for Manchester United, La Liga with Real Madrid, and Serie A with Juventus compared with Messi who is seen as a one club man having achieved virtually all his accolades while playing for Barcelona in the La liga before a short sojourn with Paris Saint Germain in the French Ligue 1.
Ronaldo’s ability to fit into the leagues and deliver is seen as a big edge in debates involving fans of the two soccer super stars however winning the world cup remains one of the biggest achievement for Messi and remain one yet to be realized desire for Ronaldo.
Is It Late For Ronaldo?
Ronaldo was thrilled few days back after World Soccer Ruling body FIFA confirmed Portugal as co-hosts of the 2030 World Cup. He described the decision as a welcome one and …one that will be of huge benefit to Portugal. FIFA announcement had said “Introducing the hosts for the next two editions of the @FIFAWorldCup!
“Morocco, Portugal, and Spain will host in 2030, with centenary celebration matches in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay”
In his reaction, a thrilled Ronaldo said “A dream come true. Portugal will host the 2030 World Cup and fill us with pride. Together!”
Portugal have been to the world cup eight times and the highest result achieved was at the last world cup in Qatar where the team made it to the quarterfinals.
Thrilled as Ronaldo is that Portugal is part of the host nations for the 2030 world cup, the concern however is whether he will be participate at that that edition when he is expected to clock 45.
Should he play at that edition at 45 he would be doing his usual, that of equaling, setting or breaking records.
Whether playing at the 2026 World cup or at the 2030 World Cup or both, he will be eyeing record breaking opportunities, like that of Cameroon international Roger Milla who scored for Cameroon at the age of 42 years and 39 days in the 1994 FIFA World Cup if he scores, and will also equal the record of Essam El-Hadary, goal keeper who featured for Egypt against Saudi Arabia at the 2018 World Cup in Russia at the age of 45 years, five months and 10 days.
World Cup 2026 And 2030
Luckily for Ronaldo there is a world cup edition before 2030 edition, the 2026 edition in United States, Mexico and Canada. Thus opportunity beckons all things being equal, that is given that he remains fit, free from injury and retains current level of performance that is being witnessed with present club Al Nassr, where he has scored in every of his appearance for the club. At the last count 59 goals in 59 appearances.
Transfer market sources insist that his value has been on the decline especially since leaving European football and moving to Saudi league. In fact the submission is that he is reaching what is likely the lowest point in his career over the past two decades.
According to the specialised market platform Transfer markt, Ronaldo’s current valuation has fallen to $12 million, a sharp contrast to his peak years. While this decline is expected over time, it is nonetheless notable for a player of his caliber.
Moving from Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United in 20 years back saw his value move from $18million that rose to $60 million during his time with Manchester United before his blockbuster move to Real Madrid for $100 million. During his long successful sojourn with Real Madrid saw the market value shoot up to $120 million, as reported by Transfer markt.
READ ALSO :Ronaldo Thrilled After FIFA Confirms Portugal As 2030 World Cup Hosts
Then slight drop during the Juventus era to $100 million, eventually declining to $45 million by the time of his return to Manchester United, while the second return to Old Trafford saw the value taking a further nose dive to $20 million.
Over the last two years with Al Nassr, his value decreased from $15 million to its current $12 million, marking the lowest point in his professional career spanning two decades.
Like it is often said age is just a number and some players tend to be slightly different from the norm. They way Ronaldo and arch rival Messi are going, the possibility of their playing the next world cup in 2026 and the 2030 edition cannot be entirely ruled out. Ronaldo you may want to know reportedly does 300 push-ups per day, perhaps safe to say it is not about age but about fitness and fitness routine.
Different Strokes For Messi, Ronaldo
While Messi who already has World Cup trophy in the kitty may not be desperate but wouldn’t mind increasing the tally, Ronaldo needs it not only to maintain tempo of the rivalry which soccer fans continue to enjoy, but more because there are also records available to be made and broken.
Should he lead Portugal to the World Cup victory in 2026, he would have become the first player to captain the country to World cup thus improving on the quarterfinal mark on ground.
On personal note, it would also mean adding the world cup trophy to his collections just like Messi.
If that happens what will be chased in 2030 by both players would be how to increase the tally especially if they remain 50-50 at their games.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
