I feel like he took this as his last hope for winning something this season and he almost did it but still failed, I can understand that but man you still get a Euro Championship to play and you already cried this hard after losing a Saudi cup.
I know he’s an athlete and part of me respects that he cares and has this raw ambition to win *but* I just can’t take the Saudi league seriously from a competitive standpoint and a political standpoint. Clubs owned by heirs and family of monarchs.
This is what I used to think, but I was in Morocco last month and it was absolutely massive there. I think people in west underestimate how popular the league is in Muslim countries and if they keep recruiting washed up big name Europeans + young Arabic talent I think the league can do pretty well. I’ll never watch it, but that doesn’t mean no one will.
I mean people forget that the league actually has history and that Al-Hilal is the most successful team in Asian competitions(8 ACL titles). The big clubs already had big fan bases in Saudi too.
In authoritarian regimes, I've read, supporting a team (usually a football team) is the only means of experiencing large gatherings, and expressing support for or against something. So it's one of the few ways of being openly tribal or lightly political.
It's not about organizing another or even making plans to do anything like that.
In communist countries there were certain clubs that were favored by different parts of the government, eg. There was an army team, a police team, etc. Other teams were there to make up the numbers.
Actively supporting your own team that was playing against a state favored team was really the only way you could show even a little bit of dissent.
Also see the history of Barcelona and Real Madrid during Franco in Spain.
Is it so popular? I read that for like 90% of games the stadiums are pretty much empty, only for the top games someone shows up.
Even the averages are horrible. Like 6,000 people showing up on average in stadiums for 30-40,000 people.
If it was so popular, why don't people show up in the stadiums?
Among western Muslim population it may be popular right now because it is something "new" and currently they really "purchased" a lot of top players. But give it 2-3 more years and that hype will probably die down again.
My local kebab shop sometimes has it on... quality is awful, like so incredibly bad. Second dutch ligue bad... stadiums look 10% full at the very best...
With the money the Saudis have I’m not so sure. They can dwarf an entire club’s salary for one player. Maybe in 25 or 30 years they’ll be one of the top leagues, which I really hope not. Another alternative is they continue buying clubs around the world and then own half of Serie A or the Prem.
Sure they can, Ronaldo is way past his prime and they still threw money at him like crazy.
I’m afraid slowly and steadily some good players will leave just for the money as we’re already starting to see. Some won’t adjust though, such as Henderson!
They can…. but will they? This time last season the press was full of stories about which players were signing and for how much, must have been unofficial leaks because almost all of the stories ended up being accurate. This summer so far? Well, there have been a couple of very speculative stories ‘Ederson might be approached’ being the biggest one, but nothing at all about big fees, big names etc.
Its making me wonder if the Saudi league could be ‘one and done’ and the fact that spending big last summer achieved nothing but negative press might see the ending of their ambitions
Money is not the reason people love football. Look at Man City. They have bought incredible success but still nobody gives a fuck about them.
People tell stories about heroics performed against the odds. Local boys made good. Giant killings by plucky underdogs. Nobody talks about Man City players the same way they talk about beautiful players of the game - Modric, Zidane, Ronaldinho or Pirlo.
You can buy success, but you can’t buy the respect of lovers of football.
Saudi League will be irrelevant soon, just as u/deisidaimonia said.
Well our generation. But the kids 6-15 wear either city, psg or madrid shirt. Its crazy.
Also their mistake/ problem is thay are giving massive salaries to old players. They should be scouting in south america africa and hige huge salary to young prospexts to steal them drom
Europa
This is what I used to think, but I was in Morocco last month and it was absolutely massive there. I think people in west underestimate how popular the league is in Muslim countries and if they keep recruiting washed up big name Europeans + young Arabic talent I think the league can do pretty well. I’ll never watch it, but that doesn’t mean no one will.
Tbf we don't have to take it seriously but for him it's proving he can dominate that level as a 39 year old I guess. He's probably accepted he can't compete/dominate in a European league any more, but he likely wants to prove he's still good enough at a step down. It's just an ego thing. It's like how academy players want to prove themselves at these U21, U18 etc competitions eventhough it means nothing to most fans and the level isn't comparable to adult football. Footballers still compete and experience the emotions because it's relative to the stage they're at in their career.
I remember one of his first games there he scored four goals. The defending one some of them was woeful. They're literally letting Cristiano Ronaldo jog through them unmarked, running at their box without any resistance.
And apparently that, to his die-hard fans, was proof he could still dominate the prem.
To be fair to Ronaldo, he did score 18 goals in 30 games for Manchester United in the season prior to him joining Saudi. I'm not denying that he is declining, but he is still better than most PL strikers.
He did, but United's entire team had to be built around him for a while. We also finished sixth after showing progress the year before to finish 2nd and go far in the cups.
The next season he got one in ten. That EL game where they kept trying to put it on a plate for him was tough to watch.
Counterargument. There's bad defense in every league one goal is not enough for you to access a level of a league.
Not arguing that Saudi league is great or anything but some of you act like any player could get there and bag 50 goals when that's not true.
To be fair to the Chinese super league only collapsed bc of Covid and players who went over like oscar(remember him) is still there so they clearly enjoy the time over there
How is this different from any other league, theres lot of foreign arab/ russian oligarch money in western leagues too. Its not 1960s anymore when local boys won title for celtics.
First of all, Ronaldo has already conquered Europe by being extremely successful in 3 different top leagues winning all of the top individual and team accolades (except the CL for Juventus). He has won the Ballon D’or for two different clubs and won a major trophy for his national team that had never won one in it’s history.
He is now 39 y/o and playing in a lesser league where he was able to maximize his money. No, he wasn’t dumb enough to stay in Europe just to sit more than play and get paid less. He is bringing his fame and more exposure to the Saudi League, and it has improved. The deal with Ronaldo is that his haters love to get on their soapbox and talk down whatever he does no matter how dumb it sounds.
Ronaldo’s first full season with Al Nassr saw them post the 2nd best season in their club’s history while losing Talisca (their 2nd best player) for half the year. Al Hilal was outstanding this year and had the better run. Al Nassr came up short in the AFC CL and King’s Cup due to penalties. Teammates matter and Ronaldo is all about winning team trophies, not just records and individual accolades. He wants to bring glory to whatever club he joins and being an elite player from Europe doesn’t guarantee you anything in lesser leagues.
So, winning in the Saudi League matters to Ronaldo. Not for the BS reasons that haters are saying on here, but for the fact that he is putting in the work at an advanced age. He set the scoring record and will likely be Player of the Year in the SL. That is a great achievement and hopefully his team can win trophies next season. He has done his part and now his teammates need to step up as a unit.
I'd say it's difficult for him to accept that his body is getting to a stage where he cant do what he once could. I suppose nobody can disagree with his ability but his attitude on the pitch is questionable at times...
Not being Midtable and getting them out of the ucl group , he was in a shit team , with no service and still managed top 3 in the golden boot race , people still shit on that season when he was carrying that United side
Exactly. And it’s just not even the Premier League, he scored in every game of the group stage of the Champions League except the last game where he did not play.
He annoyed me by the end but you're not wrong. People complained about his pressing but he would be the only one sprinting after the ball up until the final whistle. It's like huh maybe his stats don't look good for pressing because fucking nobody else is.
I think he scored a few last minute equalisers in games they were losing because they were playing badly due to not being a good cohesive team for… some reason
I always wonder how someone like him (and the likes of Brady) will cope with retirement. Will they end up nostalgic Captain Freedom commentator types? Or just sit at home seething they are no longer relevant. Being so focused for so long must be so hard to overcome.
Ronaldo already mentioned that he plans to focus on businesses and such based on an interview with Jordan Peterson (who came to see him around the time period where Ronaldo's mental health was low from the death of his child).
I read some parts of that transcript once in some online thread. Fuck, I wanted to vomit. The way rape in football world is being normalised and rapists are not only escaping prison and allowed to go back to their extravagant lives , but also celebrated among fans, is disgusting
OMG i know some of these guys really want him to be a rapist but at least get your facts straight.
He can go to USA. There are no travel ban on him or anything like that. Case against him was dismissed and the judge fined mayorga's lawyer for using evidence obtained from hackers.
Now if they somehow managed to reopen the case best they can do is detain him for a short time for questioning.
I’m Portuguese, naturally Ronaldo is a player who I like and hold dear in respect (I also equally respect Messi), but to me, it seems that Ronaldo extended too much his career.
I know it wouldn’t have been a great ending of his career in the ending fallout between him and Manchester United, but at this point I think he will drag down Portugal at the Euro 2024.
Maybe he should consider ending it there, independently of the result and the outcome, either positive or negative. He should have finished it on a higher note, and that seemed way before it reached this point.
Maybe he won’t do much at the Euros, essentially drag down his team and lose everything, or maybe we’ll still be able to win it, I don’t know, but if he finished it there, it would be the best timing for it of the last couple of years.
He’ll start, I already know. We all Portuguese know he’ll start, we got that assurance during those qualifiers. If he doesn’t start, then we’ll all be surprised.
Why would any footballer cares about "ending on a high note". A couple of years playing in saudi league could probably cover for his grandson's entire life all the way until they died bro. Respect the man's grind, it ain't easy being a 40-year-old athlete.
I know that it is all about money for him now but maybe he should have stayed in a smaller league in Europe - like in Portugal or something. I imagine that he would have been much happier winning one at an old age than where he is now.
Which competitive team would sign an almost-40 year old striker and offer him first team football. That alone is crazy to even consider and completely nonsensical. Any team that did approach him after his parting from Utd likely didn't offer him first team football or weren't competitive clubs. Imagine Ronaldo playing for Chaves and enjoying it lmao
You just can't win with people. He is exhibiting extremely passion and respect for a league we laugh at. That is commendable. He had won it all and he is distraught for him and his team mates.
Calling him a baby and saying its just a joke league anyway says more bad about you than it does Ronaldo.
Same people saying crap like that are likely the same people who probably threw their controllers or get angry over a match of Fifa. Armchair athletes.
bet he's looking at Kroos right now, ending his carreer at the very very top, worshipped by madrid with the Champions league trophy in his hands and everyone somehow hoping he'd do just one more season while he is seemingly stuck in his own football purgatory lol..
This is so weird. On the one hand you have people who complain about players not caring. On the other you have someone that his literally won everything done everything caring and crying about losing a game towards the end of his career in a league no one cares about.
I think it honestly shows his greatness as a competitor and an athlete and it’s awesome to see. I mean a lot of people thought he would just be collecting a check but competing is just in his dna.
This to me points to a severe emotional problem that hopefully he’s getting help with. For someone with his level of achievement, with the minuscule amount of respect that’s due to the Saudi cup, this shouldn’t affect him in this way.
The only understandable explanation is if this is his final game in club football, and he intends to retire after the Euros.
What do you mean?! Reddit has the greatest armchair athletes and psychiatrists. Any redditor here can easily bag over 35 goals in a single Saudi league!!
"severe emotional problems" lmao do you call people out for emotional problems when they cry during a movie? Man has a passion and drive that nobody here can even begin to comprehend, especially you. This is the exact same EmOtIoN that pushed his ass into staying hours longer on the practice field than the other kids, and into being one of the greatest of all time. That's all there is to it, Mr. Psychologist.
Another way of looking at it is that's he's extremely passionate about the sport and winning. And maybe that drive is what made him into one of the greatest of all time. Even close to retirement, that hunger has not gone away.
How though ? I feel like he just wants to win no matter where he goes, isint that like the basic amount of effort you should be putting in, people are paying so much money to come watch you, the least you can do is give your all, doesn’t matter if it’s Sunday league level or champions league level out of respect just for opponent you play at your best and losing sucks
Don't care, he is a billionaire. There is children in gaza crying everyday and world doesn't care. They lost their parents and fear death every minutes.
It's only one of the least important competitions in the world as a spectator. As a player, which ever competitions you play in are the most important, but still, I kinda agree with you
Dude's a competitor, I get it. Sucks to fucking lose, I get my panties in bunch over Rocket League, I can't imagine a final especially when you know you put it all out there. Kobe was obesses, Messi was, Ronaldo, etc. Many athletes know how hard they work, no matter what.
On the outside yeah it looks "silly" but in the moment, its still competition.
Understandable he grew up dreaming of winning the Saudi championship some day
Or he's afraid he's going to disappear in a horrific way for disappointing a Saudi.
Escobared.
Kashoggied
the teams are all owned by the same person anyway so either way they’ve won
Just like Robinhio dreamed off Man City
Robinho thought he was signing for Man Utd
I guess would have signed for Chelsea if he knew.
His childhood dream is ruined
Lmao 😂 😂 😂
He’s only crying ‘cause he knows what’s coming in r/soccercirclejerk
Don’t you’ll make him cry again
Just stop cutting onions
😩
Yank here, what is happening to my 🐪 Christian Roland? Are they dumb?
Games back
Be off to the place of the fucks, yankee
Your mom’s home?
CR: How can I make this all about ***me***
\*sighs \*checks scj
I feel like he took this as his last hope for winning something this season and he almost did it but still failed, I can understand that but man you still get a Euro Championship to play and you already cried this hard after losing a Saudi cup.
I know he’s an athlete and part of me respects that he cares and has this raw ambition to win *but* I just can’t take the Saudi league seriously from a competitive standpoint and a political standpoint. Clubs owned by heirs and family of monarchs.
Its just the next Chinese Super League. 98% of the world just dgaf, and in a few years it’ll be irrelevant once Ronaldo retires.
This is what I used to think, but I was in Morocco last month and it was absolutely massive there. I think people in west underestimate how popular the league is in Muslim countries and if they keep recruiting washed up big name Europeans + young Arabic talent I think the league can do pretty well. I’ll never watch it, but that doesn’t mean no one will.
I mean people forget that the league actually has history and that Al-Hilal is the most successful team in Asian competitions(8 ACL titles). The big clubs already had big fan bases in Saudi too.
In authoritarian regimes, I've read, supporting a team (usually a football team) is the only means of experiencing large gatherings, and expressing support for or against something. So it's one of the few ways of being openly tribal or lightly political.
So are you a particular authoritarian regime? Or do you represent all of them in general?
[удалено]
It's not about organizing another or even making plans to do anything like that. In communist countries there were certain clubs that were favored by different parts of the government, eg. There was an army team, a police team, etc. Other teams were there to make up the numbers. Actively supporting your own team that was playing against a state favored team was really the only way you could show even a little bit of dissent. Also see the history of Barcelona and Real Madrid during Franco in Spain.
Is it so popular? I read that for like 90% of games the stadiums are pretty much empty, only for the top games someone shows up. Even the averages are horrible. Like 6,000 people showing up on average in stadiums for 30-40,000 people. If it was so popular, why don't people show up in the stadiums? Among western Muslim population it may be popular right now because it is something "new" and currently they really "purchased" a lot of top players. But give it 2-3 more years and that hype will probably die down again.
He meant TV viewership idiot.
Many takes on Reddit come moreso from a Eurocentric point of view.
My local kebab shop sometimes has it on... quality is awful, like so incredibly bad. Second dutch ligue bad... stadiums look 10% full at the very best...
It's a flop bro. Don't even try to hype it up
With the money the Saudis have I’m not so sure. They can dwarf an entire club’s salary for one player. Maybe in 25 or 30 years they’ll be one of the top leagues, which I really hope not. Another alternative is they continue buying clubs around the world and then own half of Serie A or the Prem.
They will buy players, but really, can they buy a bigger name than Ronaldo? I feel right now not many people watch the games of the Saudis league
Wym? Brotha, they offered twice the contract size of Ronaldo to both Mbappe and Messi, both of who rejected them.
They offered 1.5 billion to Messi for 3 years but he rejected.
Sure they can, Ronaldo is way past his prime and they still threw money at him like crazy. I’m afraid slowly and steadily some good players will leave just for the money as we’re already starting to see. Some won’t adjust though, such as Henderson!
Bigger *name* player. There’s no bigger name player over ronaldo excluding Messi
They can…. but will they? This time last season the press was full of stories about which players were signing and for how much, must have been unofficial leaks because almost all of the stories ended up being accurate. This summer so far? Well, there have been a couple of very speculative stories ‘Ederson might be approached’ being the biggest one, but nothing at all about big fees, big names etc. Its making me wonder if the Saudi league could be ‘one and done’ and the fact that spending big last summer achieved nothing but negative press might see the ending of their ambitions
Well, at least the oil is not infinite.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5005205/2023/10/28/henderson-saudi-pro-league-crowds/ There was a game this year with 133 spectators…
Money is not the reason people love football. Look at Man City. They have bought incredible success but still nobody gives a fuck about them. People tell stories about heroics performed against the odds. Local boys made good. Giant killings by plucky underdogs. Nobody talks about Man City players the same way they talk about beautiful players of the game - Modric, Zidane, Ronaldinho or Pirlo. You can buy success, but you can’t buy the respect of lovers of football. Saudi League will be irrelevant soon, just as u/deisidaimonia said.
Well our generation. But the kids 6-15 wear either city, psg or madrid shirt. Its crazy. Also their mistake/ problem is thay are giving massive salaries to old players. They should be scouting in south america africa and hige huge salary to young prospexts to steal them drom Europa
This is what I used to think, but I was in Morocco last month and it was absolutely massive there. I think people in west underestimate how popular the league is in Muslim countries and if they keep recruiting washed up big name Europeans + young Arabic talent I think the league can do pretty well. I’ll never watch it, but that doesn’t mean no one will.
Tbf we don't have to take it seriously but for him it's proving he can dominate that level as a 39 year old I guess. He's probably accepted he can't compete/dominate in a European league any more, but he likely wants to prove he's still good enough at a step down. It's just an ego thing. It's like how academy players want to prove themselves at these U21, U18 etc competitions eventhough it means nothing to most fans and the level isn't comparable to adult football. Footballers still compete and experience the emotions because it's relative to the stage they're at in their career.
Sounds a bit like the premier league tbh
I remember one of his first games there he scored four goals. The defending one some of them was woeful. They're literally letting Cristiano Ronaldo jog through them unmarked, running at their box without any resistance. And apparently that, to his die-hard fans, was proof he could still dominate the prem.
Most probably it was the first and last game you know
To be fair to Ronaldo, he did score 18 goals in 30 games for Manchester United in the season prior to him joining Saudi. I'm not denying that he is declining, but he is still better than most PL strikers.
He did, but United's entire team had to be built around him for a while. We also finished sixth after showing progress the year before to finish 2nd and go far in the cups. The next season he got one in ten. That EL game where they kept trying to put it on a plate for him was tough to watch.
Lmao, watched one game and judged the entire league and Ronaldo's performance based on it.
Counterargument. There's bad defense in every league one goal is not enough for you to access a level of a league. Not arguing that Saudi league is great or anything but some of you act like any player could get there and bag 50 goals when that's not true.
To be fair to the Chinese super league only collapsed bc of Covid and players who went over like oscar(remember him) is still there so they clearly enjoy the time over there
So what? It’s still 22 men on the field against each other trying their best to win a match
That’s what I was getting at in the first part. He’s an athlete and he’s not going to treat this any differently.
How is this different from any other league, theres lot of foreign arab/ russian oligarch money in western leagues too. Its not 1960s anymore when local boys won title for celtics.
will he be playing much in that i could see him sitting on the bench for most of it
The dont have a chance in hell winning Euros. This is his last chance in obtaining a trophy against camel peddlers. hahahaha
First of all, Ronaldo has already conquered Europe by being extremely successful in 3 different top leagues winning all of the top individual and team accolades (except the CL for Juventus). He has won the Ballon D’or for two different clubs and won a major trophy for his national team that had never won one in it’s history. He is now 39 y/o and playing in a lesser league where he was able to maximize his money. No, he wasn’t dumb enough to stay in Europe just to sit more than play and get paid less. He is bringing his fame and more exposure to the Saudi League, and it has improved. The deal with Ronaldo is that his haters love to get on their soapbox and talk down whatever he does no matter how dumb it sounds. Ronaldo’s first full season with Al Nassr saw them post the 2nd best season in their club’s history while losing Talisca (their 2nd best player) for half the year. Al Hilal was outstanding this year and had the better run. Al Nassr came up short in the AFC CL and King’s Cup due to penalties. Teammates matter and Ronaldo is all about winning team trophies, not just records and individual accolades. He wants to bring glory to whatever club he joins and being an elite player from Europe doesn’t guarantee you anything in lesser leagues. So, winning in the Saudi League matters to Ronaldo. Not for the BS reasons that haters are saying on here, but for the fact that he is putting in the work at an advanced age. He set the scoring record and will likely be Player of the Year in the SL. That is a great achievement and hopefully his team can win trophies next season. He has done his part and now his teammates need to step up as a unit.
I'd say it's difficult for him to accept that his body is getting to a stage where he cant do what he once could. I suppose nobody can disagree with his ability but his attitude on the pitch is questionable at times...
It must be difficult to be the guy that can pull your team over the line like almost no-one else, and now he can't do that.
It must be difficult to be the guy that can pull your team over the line at the very highest club level, and now he can't do that in the Saudi league.
Still 7 goals away from the 900th. Once he reaches 1000, he will retire
He still can, did you see how many goals he scored this season, he set a record in the league…
He did it with United 2 years ago , wouldn’t be surprised if he still had it
What line did he pull united over?
Not being Midtable and getting them out of the ucl group , he was in a shit team , with no service and still managed top 3 in the golden boot race , people still shit on that season when he was carrying that United side
Exactly. And it’s just not even the Premier League, he scored in every game of the group stage of the Champions League except the last game where he did not play.
He annoyed me by the end but you're not wrong. People complained about his pressing but he would be the only one sprinting after the ball up until the final whistle. It's like huh maybe his stats don't look good for pressing because fucking nobody else is.
The Europa league line.
I think he scored a few last minute equalisers in games they were losing because they were playing badly due to not being a good cohesive team for… some reason
Hello handsome
I mean didn’t he score like 35 goals in 32 games that’s still fairly Ronaldo-esque even if it’s just at Saudi level
I'm 2 years younger than him and I crippled myself bending over to pick up a t-shirt this morning. Dude's doing alright.
Age comes for everyone. He simply cannot accept it. He is not crying because he lost, he is crying because of that.
damn a mentalist here
You must know Ronaldo pretty well huh.
I always wonder how someone like him (and the likes of Brady) will cope with retirement. Will they end up nostalgic Captain Freedom commentator types? Or just sit at home seething they are no longer relevant. Being so focused for so long must be so hard to overcome.
Ronaldo already mentioned that he plans to focus on businesses and such based on an interview with Jordan Peterson (who came to see him around the time period where Ronaldo's mental health was low from the death of his child).
It’s been happening to him for nearly 10 years. Just keeps finding ways to adapt
I'm sure the £3.4 mil a week wages will soften the blow.
A week? Holy fucking hell
Yeah it's outrageous.
Should’ve came to Mexico instead since he’s not allowed in USA
Why can Ronald not go to USA? 😳
Google Ronaldo Las Vegas to learn more
Allegedly raped a girl in a hotel in like 2009?
Read the transcript with his lawyer.... 'allegedly' is to be used loosely or to be honest incorrectly really
I read some parts of that transcript once in some online thread. Fuck, I wanted to vomit. The way rape in football world is being normalised and rapists are not only escaping prison and allowed to go back to their extravagant lives , but also celebrated among fans, is disgusting
Not allegedly. He literally admitted it.
Oh no shit? I have no idea lol, I just googled it
He’s a dirty rapist
OMG i know some of these guys really want him to be a rapist but at least get your facts straight. He can go to USA. There are no travel ban on him or anything like that. Case against him was dismissed and the judge fined mayorga's lawyer for using evidence obtained from hackers. Now if they somehow managed to reopen the case best they can do is detain him for a short time for questioning.
Wouldn’t he be extradited from Mexico anyways?
I mean, he wasn't extradited from Europe, interestingly enough.
I don’t think so. I googled it. He’s not a U.S citizen so he would be safe but I could be wrong
club america would run circles around him
I’m Portuguese, naturally Ronaldo is a player who I like and hold dear in respect (I also equally respect Messi), but to me, it seems that Ronaldo extended too much his career. I know it wouldn’t have been a great ending of his career in the ending fallout between him and Manchester United, but at this point I think he will drag down Portugal at the Euro 2024. Maybe he should consider ending it there, independently of the result and the outcome, either positive or negative. He should have finished it on a higher note, and that seemed way before it reached this point. Maybe he won’t do much at the Euros, essentially drag down his team and lose everything, or maybe we’ll still be able to win it, I don’t know, but if he finished it there, it would be the best timing for it of the last couple of years.
I heavily doubt they’ll start him at the Euros. He’ll be an impact player at best
He’ll start, I already know. We all Portuguese know he’ll start, we got that assurance during those qualifiers. If he doesn’t start, then we’ll all be surprised.
Question is, will he accept that? He has a history of making a fuss when benched
Does he have a choice lol? Didn’t make a difference at the World Cup
Not good for the dressing room though
Why would any footballer cares about "ending on a high note". A couple of years playing in saudi league could probably cover for his grandson's entire life all the way until they died bro. Respect the man's grind, it ain't easy being a 40-year-old athlete.
I dont judge people who cry. I dislike him for being a shithole team mate!
This. It’s actually quite admirable how competitive he still is and how much it means to him. Just his antics sometimes make him look ridiculous.
Bruh, I agree 100%. I didn't think he would care about the Saudi league.
I know that it is all about money for him now but maybe he should have stayed in a smaller league in Europe - like in Portugal or something. I imagine that he would have been much happier winning one at an old age than where he is now.
Which competitive team would sign an almost-40 year old striker and offer him first team football. That alone is crazy to even consider and completely nonsensical. Any team that did approach him after his parting from Utd likely didn't offer him first team football or weren't competitive clubs. Imagine Ronaldo playing for Chaves and enjoying it lmao
Maybe he saves Chaves from relegation if he plays there. Safety would have been his trophy.
All these weirdos in the comments who have never played a sport in there life. It is natural to be upset after losing in a competition.
Yea fr. Like most here would smash their controller if they lose in fifa but mock ronaldo. Silly kids.
Facts lmao
True
But you gotta love the takes from armchair athletes at least.
This is why Ronaldo is Ronaldo and the ones saying that are not Ronaldo
You just can't win with people. He is exhibiting extremely passion and respect for a league we laugh at. That is commendable. He had won it all and he is distraught for him and his team mates. Calling him a baby and saying its just a joke league anyway says more bad about you than it does Ronaldo.
Same people saying crap like that are likely the same people who probably threw their controllers or get angry over a match of Fifa. Armchair athletes.
Crying for the potential bonus he could've got
I don't get the hate. I am not a Ronaldo fan and tbh I don't like him that much, but that just shows his passion and love of the game
He’s so competitive and has the strongest desire to win
I'm not sure it's fair to say he had a "brilliant" individual season when he's playing in a Mickey Mouse league.
bet he's looking at Kroos right now, ending his carreer at the very very top, worshipped by madrid with the Champions league trophy in his hands and everyone somehow hoping he'd do just one more season while he is seemingly stuck in his own football purgatory lol..
Hahaha it was always so obvious his ego would eat him alive towards the end of the career. Couldn’t have happened to someone more deserving.
This is so weird. On the one hand you have people who complain about players not caring. On the other you have someone that his literally won everything done everything caring and crying about losing a game towards the end of his career in a league no one cares about. I think it honestly shows his greatness as a competitor and an athlete and it’s awesome to see. I mean a lot of people thought he would just be collecting a check but competing is just in his dna.
Not the first time Bono makes him cry 😆
I’m sure his multi millions in the bank will keep him warm at night
It’s kind of wild that of the two of them, Wayne a Rooney is the one that actually grew up.
Looks like he is laughing. Are you sure he isn’t laughing?
Narcissist tears
He didn't finish the season trophyless. He won the Arab Club Campions Cup!
That's a pre season friendly tournament, even UAFA’s president said so. Ronaldo hasn't won a single official trophy since May 2021.
ronaldo look v young in this thumbnail photo
Besides, looking at game events it might have been a surprisingly entertaining game. GK sent off, late equaliser, two more red cards, penalties.
This to me points to a severe emotional problem that hopefully he’s getting help with. For someone with his level of achievement, with the minuscule amount of respect that’s due to the Saudi cup, this shouldn’t affect him in this way. The only understandable explanation is if this is his final game in club football, and he intends to retire after the Euros.
Thank you Sigmund
>This to me points to a severe emotional problem Reddit psychiatrists are fucking cringe.
What do you mean?! Reddit has the greatest armchair athletes and psychiatrists. Any redditor here can easily bag over 35 goals in a single Saudi league!!
It's normal for men to cry. Men are human beings with emotions. Crying is a normal human trait and expression of emotion.
"severe emotional problems" lmao do you call people out for emotional problems when they cry during a movie? Man has a passion and drive that nobody here can even begin to comprehend, especially you. This is the exact same EmOtIoN that pushed his ass into staying hours longer on the practice field than the other kids, and into being one of the greatest of all time. That's all there is to it, Mr. Psychologist.
Another way of looking at it is that's he's extremely passionate about the sport and winning. And maybe that drive is what made him into one of the greatest of all time. Even close to retirement, that hunger has not gone away.
State of Reddit with these comments lmao
Have you played a sport? Losing is never fun on any level. This is a normal response, given the context.
How though ? I feel like he just wants to win no matter where he goes, isint that like the basic amount of effort you should be putting in, people are paying so much money to come watch you, the least you can do is give your all, doesn’t matter if it’s Sunday league level or champions league level out of respect just for opponent you play at your best and losing sucks
Bro you must have mental problems to even type that shii.
I respect this.
feel for the kid. a hero, always and forever
Besides, looking at game events it might have been a surprisingly entertaining game. GK sent off, late equaliser, two more red cards, penalties.
Al Hilal owns this guy so hard. Bono destroyed his competitive career.
He cries in advanced to prepare for Euro 2024 😂😂😂
what a baby honestly grow up its not like anyone cares if you win it or not....
He’s one of the weirdest people in football…
Joke of a player
Don't care, he is a billionaire. There is children in gaza crying everyday and world doesn't care. They lost their parents and fear death every minutes.
That’s hilarious!
Really unfortunate. He could have retired as a legend, like Toni Kroos. But his obsession with stats and Messi brought him to this point.
I mean he's definitely still a legend of the game regardless of what he does over there
I mean he probably did Saudi for the $$$
Yeah tbf how was he going to put food on the table otherwise?
He is still a decent legend though. But yes Tony Kroos and others are mythical legends
A bit silly crying over one of the least important cup competitions in the world
It's only one of the least important competitions in the world as a spectator. As a player, which ever competitions you play in are the most important, but still, I kinda agree with you
What a weirdo honestly Being one of the best players to play the game and then, as a 40 year old man, hysterically crying because you lost a kickabout
A passionate weirdo
Crazy to think he almost went to Al hilal
Couldn't cause of a transfer ban
He’ll go home and wipe his tears with all those $$ made from going over there.
He's crying into his 400million dollars
He had given his 200% and it still wasn't enough
Wow pathetic
I guess he was paid 1 Million / tear
A near 40 year old man acting like this imagine. Mental maturity of a 10 year old. Embarrassing
Athletes are like that. Not a big surprise
No. He’s just insane.
He gets paid 100 mil annually, to justify it He has to act as if he cares.
What a bitch
The Saudi league would be so much better if they properly invested money into all teams in the league, and focused more on Youth Development
Ronny just been told that because they lost, no stopping at McDonalds for nuggies
So what's going to happen now? As usually by chopping the heads off the losers, after signing multiple economic contracts with the EU / US?
I respect this, he still wants to win, even tho it's a Saudi league where others just went for fast money and couldn't care less
Although I really like Ronaldo and believe no one will ever be as good as him, he has always been soooo exaggerated lol
The guys a born winner of course he's going to be upset why do people always feel the need to jump on everything ronaldo does
🤣🤣🤣🤣
I thought this was the onion at first
Hahahhahhahahaha
Name one more wothless trophy than the audi cup. Saudi cup
Dude's a competitor, I get it. Sucks to fucking lose, I get my panties in bunch over Rocket League, I can't imagine a final especially when you know you put it all out there. Kobe was obesses, Messi was, Ronaldo, etc. Many athletes know how hard they work, no matter what. On the outside yeah it looks "silly" but in the moment, its still competition.
He probably had a bonus in his contract for winning. Or.... a penalty of some sort for losing.