Julius OkorieHe may have left them seven years ago after scoring 311 goals in 292 appearances, his foot prints in the club still resonates as if it were just yesterday.
Real Madrid cannot forget Portugal international, Cristiano Ronaldo, in a hurry and are proud to have the Al-Nassr forward who turned 40 today as part of their history.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe five-time Ballon d’Or winner, born 5th February 1985 has left his foot on the sand of history, winning virtually everything there is to win in football and leaving a mark to remember wherever he goes. La Liga giants Real Madrid still savouring his impact in the club were early birds he wishing their former talisman Happy 40th birthday.
Taking to their X @realmadriden, the Carlo Ancelotti tutored side wrote “🥳 Dear @Cristiano,from Real Madrid, we want to send you our warmest wishes on your 40th birthday. Every madridista is proud of the legend that you are and what you represent for our history. Have a great day with your family and loved ones”
Ronaldo, who made then world record transfer £80 million in 2009 to Real Madrid from Manchester United, pulled 80,000 fans to his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu, surpassing the 25-year record of 75,000 fans who had welcomed Diego Maradona at Napoli.
He went ahead to become Real Madrid all time goal scorer on 12 September 2015 against Espanyol, netting 230 goals in 203 matches, surpassing the previous record holder, Raúl. Ronaldo also became the all-time top scorer in the Champions League with a hat-trick in the first group match against Shakhtar Donetsk, having finished the previous season level with Messi on 77 goals.
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Ronaldo is known for breaking and setting records and many believe that will not stop even as he clocks 40.
The Al-Nassr man will now be hoping to push his limits even further as he enters his 40s and shows no sign of retiring any time soon.
Despite growing criticism from fans, and facing his own mortality in the game for perhaps the first time, in his mind, he’s still got plenty to achieve.
Here Are Line Up Of Targets He Still Hopes To Achieve
*playing in the 2026 World Cup – and returning home with the trophy, having recently said he would like to “win something else with the national team”;
*Netting 1,000 career goals – he currently has 923;
*Reaching 250 Portugal caps – he has 217;
* Sharing the pitch with his son Cristiano Ronaldo Jr, who is 14 and plays for Al-Nassr’s youth teams.
When it comes to Ronaldo, his compatriots have learned that, as he usually says, “there are no impossibilities”.
“Ronaldo does things, but he does them knowing all the whys, and that’s what impresses me. I’m convinced he’ll continue for another one, two, or even three years,” said his former Al-Nassr coach Luis Castro.
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.
