The stage was set for Cristiano Ronaldo to become the second man to ever score 100 international goals this weekend. Instead, he watched his country take on Croatia from the stands, with a toe injury keeping him out of Portugal’s lineup.
Lionel Messi will leave Barcelona at some point, that is a fact. When he leaves is still up for debate. What won’t be much of a debate is that Barcelona’s attack will suffer tremendously from the Argentine’s departure.
It’s a no-brainer that a team won’t score as often after the best attacking player leaves. The real question is how bad will it get? Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid gives a good idea of what could happen with Barcelona in terms of offense.
How much of soccer is becoming — as the kids would say — an ‘aesthetic?’ And a privileged aesthetic at that.
Here in the U.S., soccer is becoming an elitist sport. We talk about how the newest and most expensive boots are the only way to be like Ronaldo or Messi. Hand me downs are a no-go. If you don’t have the best kits or play for the most expensive clubs then you don’t stand a chance.
Only on FIFA Ultimate Team could someone imagine having Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Cristiano Ronaldo as a striking trio.
Juventus captured its ninth-straight Serie A title after defeating Sampdoria 2-0 on Sunday. Cristiano Ronaldo’s technical finish in first half stoppage time was enough for Juve as the club’s 36th Scudetto was claimed with two matches to spare. Federico Bernardeschi scored the insurance goal for Juve in the 67th minute after Emil Audero spilled a Ronaldo shot.
Juventus entered today’s game having won only one of its last five matches, whereas Claudio Ranieri’s Sampdoria had won five of its last seven to escape the pressures of relegation and climb to 14th in the table.
Cristiano Ronaldo reached the landmark of 30 goals this Serie A season during Juventus’ 2-1 victory over Lazio on Monday. Only two players had ever reached the 30-goal milestone in Italy’s top division since 1960 — Luca Toni and Gonzalo Higuaín — but, remarkably, Monday’s match saw both Ronaldo and Lazio's Ciro Immobile hit that mark.
Ronaldo scored goal number 29 from the spot (his 12th successful penalty of the campaign) before adding number 30 after Paulo Dybala set him up for a tap-in.
MILAN — AC Milan scored three times in five astonishing second-half minutes as they hit back from two goals down to beat visiting Serie A leaders Juventus 4-2 on Tuesday, the first points dropped by the Turin side since the season restarted last month.
Juve appeared to be cruising to another win when Adrien Rabiot put them ahead with a solo goal two minutes after the break and Cristiano Ronaldo added a second with a typical effort, his 26th league goal of the season.
Six days shy of his two-year anniversary of signing with Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo finally scored a free kick for his new club. A stellar Cristiano Ronaldo free kick on Saturday helped the Bianconeri cruise past Torino 4-1 on a record-breaking day for goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
If you grew up watching Cristiano Ronaldo play then I warn you that this article will make you feel old. Since his professional debut with Sporting in 2002, Ronaldo held the title as the Lisbon club’s youngest player for nearly 18 years. That record was broken on Wednesday when 17-year-old Joelson Fernandes made his professional debut for the Portuguese club.
GENOA, Italy — Juventus secured a 3-1 win at lowly Genoa on Tuesday to stay four points clear at the top of Serie A thanks to a solo goal by Paulo Dybala, a long-range rocket from Cristiano Ronaldo and an exquisite curling shot by Douglas Costa.
Genoa held out defiantly until halftime with goalkeeper Mattia Perin saving everything his former club could throw at him but they had no answer to Juve's individual brilliance in the second period.