Many happy returns, Cristiano Ronaldo.
On Thursday February 5, 2015, Ronaldo turned 30 as the reigning World Player of the Year for 2013 and 2014 is no longer in his twenties.
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It is also quite a busy day for birthday’s in the soccer world as Neymar turned 23, Carlos Tevez is 31 and Adnan Januzaj is 20 today.
But, back to Cristiano. The boy man has won every major trophy going, has scored over 400 goals in 600 games and has been named the best player on the planet three times and counting. He will certainly go down as one of the greatest players in history.
But what will Ronaldo achieve in the next 10 years of his incredible career?
Here’s a (light-hearted) look at how the next 10 years could pan out for Cristiano...
- Ronaldo wins the the UEFA Champions League and La Liga with Real Madrid in 2017. He’s also the World Player of the Year for a fourth-straight time at the age of 32
- At the age of 33, Ronaldo and Portugal make the 2018 World Cup semifinals but lose to Germany
- Now 34, Ronaldo returns to Manchester United as a free agent, and gets a heroes welcome in England
- After leading Manchester United to Premier League glory, Ronaldo signs for the LA Galaxy/Miami/NYCFC (delete where appropriate) in 2022 at the age of 36
- Still Portugal’s captain at the age of 37, Ronaldo bows out of the international stage as he scores eight goals in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup but his team fall in the last 16 to the USA...
- Ronaldo sees out the final three years of his career in North America’s top-flight, aged 39, winning every award going and three-straight MLS Cups. Standard.
- On February 5, 2025, Ronaldo turns 40 and is now an assistant coach with old club Manchester United, and is tipped to take over from Ryan Giggs in the near future.
So, is this how his next 10 years will turn out? Probably not. But it’s worth contemplating what lies in store for Ronaldo in the years to come...