Ever since Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to Juventus, questions have been whirling about as to who will fill his shoes and be the leading man for los Blancos this season. What star will Madrid pluck from another European giant for an absurd sum of money? What precocious youngster will hastily be labeled "The Next Ronaldo?”
For clarification, the Balotelli Challenge does not refer to a competition in which you try to piss your coaches and teammates off with questionable behavior on and off the pitch. Nor does it mean trying a fancy finish when you’re clear on goal or wielding goal celebrations that are nearly obnoxious enough to get you punched in the mouth. Ah, enough I suppose. Mario Balotelli has been through the ringer these past few years.
Thibaut Courtois hard-balled Chelsea on Monday with a preseason training absence. The 26-year-old Belgian goalkeeper has long been speculated to leave Chelsea for Real Madrid, and this stern message to new boss Maurizio Sarri might be the final trick.
Courtois just entered the final 12 months of his Chelsea contract, and with this no-show antic, his transfer might be imminent — to which club though?
Twitter didn’t take long to turn the whole ordeal into a circus of memes.
At the age of 19, Alex Hunter’s career is already approaching that of the journeyman. Back in FIFA 17, you selected a Premier League club to start with, but you were then loaned to a Championship side before returning to the EPL.
In FIFA 18, you started with your parent club before being offloaded to the Los Angeles Galaxy because of Michael the conniving agent. After grinding in MLS, you then signed with either Atletico Madrid, PSG or Bayern Munich.
In a huge piece of investigative journalism, Madrid daily newspaper Marca reported the Cristiano Ronaldo Instagram account unfollowed Real Madrid on Friday. What a scoop!
More importantly, The18 can now confirm that Cristiano Ronaldo will not be back with Real Madrid this season, instead moving to Juventus. Because we all know a breakup isn’t official until social media accounts are unfollowed.
So, um, does any of this matter?
Sergio Ramos Garcia harvested himself from a little, unknown seed playing for Sevilla to an unearthly spectacle at Real Madrid. He is the captain of both Spain’s national team and Los Blancos. He is the hero of some and the villain of many — he also holds an insane record of red cards.
For better and for worse, Vinícius Júnior is already looking an awful lot like Cristiano Ronaldo, the man he’s ostensibly at Real Madrid to replace. From impressive Vinícius Júnior skill to enraging flops against Manchester United on Tuesday night, the 18-year-old Brazilian appears to have everything it takes to fill the giant void on Los Blancos’ left wing.
The Spanish football season begins on August 12, 2018, with the Supercopa de España in Tangier, Morocco. That trophy match will be contested by La Liga winner Barcelona and Copa del Rey runner-up Sevilla, and it’ll serve as the curtain raiser for the new league season. The La Liga fixtures for 2018-19 were announced Tuesday, including opening weekend matches and the dates for this season’s El Clásicos.
An Andrés Iniestra vs. Ronaldo duel may sound like a classic clash between two of LaLiga’s most historic figures.
But read carefully: It is not Barcelona’s Andrés Iniesta but rather Pumas UNAM Andrés Iniestra we are talking about.
Similarly, it is not Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo but Veracruz’s Ronaldo Prieto.