Football doesn't need Two-Face Ronaldo anymore

Paul Macdonald

• Updated: 21 Oct 2022 12:00 BST
• 4 min read

Everything we know about Cristiano Ronaldo suggests that he would always play on as long as he possibly could.

He remains a supreme physical specimen even as he approaches his 38th birthday in February of next year, and, as far as he is concerned, his goal total from last season more than justifies his inclusion in the team.

But the fact of the matter is that it’s not just a pressing thing, or even a tactical thing. It’s just an age thing. It comes for us all and maybe it’s time for him to reassess the level at which he can compete.

MORE: Ronaldo's January transfer options

Retiring players can take one of two approaches; firstly, they can choose to bow out at the peak of their powers, refusing to move down through the levels. Zinedine Zidane is perhaps the most obvious proponent of this, and his legacy has been largely maintained by doing so - even if his last act on a football pitch was a headbutt.

The second is the sundown approach. Head to MLS, move to the Middle East and coin it in while still producing brief moments of magic to remind everyone of past glories. There are infinitely more examples of this route, from Xavi, to Wayne Rooney, to a host of others who took the money.

And undoubtedly Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has played a role in sustaining his desire to remain at the top level. The ultimate cash cow could well have one more big transfer in him, so why pass up the opportunity to play until you are 40?

MORE: Xavi deals Man Utd transfer hopes a blow with De Jong hint

It's always been about Ronaldo

Then there’s Ronaldo himself. As proven during his strop this week, he’s self-obsessed, putting his own achievements ahead that of the club, and demands that everything is structured around him.

It was the case 10 years ago, when he celebrated scoring the fourth goal in the Champions League final win over Atletico as if he were the hero of the hour. It has been the case, consistently, ever since. He effectively admitted as much when he tried to excuse his actions against Spurs. “I’m the same person and the same professional that I’ve been for the last 20 years playing elite football,” he admitted on Instagram.

But Erik ten Hag standing up to him has created a situation that’s never happened before - where he’s surplus to requirements.

Messi is Batman to Ronaldo's Two-Face

Football, largely, doesn’t need Ronaldo anymore. That has to hurt for any player to hear. But there’s no defying the ageing process, as much as he wants there to be, and with that comes a broad assessment of where you want to be and how you want to be seen; either benched at a big club, stropping and destroying your legacy, or understanding your new status and either disappearing, or playing at a level which better befits your new standing.

Ronaldo is unlikely to do a Zidane; in fact, you might say he’s overstayed his welcome already. With each day that passes a doubt is seeded in the minds of people who would have said, unquestionably, that he is one of, if not the, greatest player ever. That may seem fickle and short-sighted, and it is, but that’s the nature of the GOAT debate - die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

And just like Two-Face, there’s another hero breathing down his neck that he fears more than anyone; Lionel Messi is Ronaldo’s Batman. Ronaldo currently has 140 Champions League goals, Messi has 127, but he crucially has two years on his rival. Most of Ronaldo’s posturing around going to a Champions League club isn’t around winning the thing, it’s about extending that gap as far as possible.

And so he’ll never walk away while Messi is breathing down his neck. He wants to cement that legacy through records that he hopes can never be broken. And in the process of that is tarnishing what he built for himself.

Age has come for Cristiano, and it is hard to accept. But he’s made a choice to be the villain, and it’s a hard route to come back from.