Cristiano Ronaldo is a “goal machine” who will remain competitive until the day he retires, former Italy and Juventus defender Gianluca Zambrotta has told Stats Perform.
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo has reportedly asked to leave Manchester United for one season at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese forward has not yet returned to training with United and is not part of his trip to Thailand and Australia, which has been suspended for family reasons.
Ronaldo scored the club’s top 24 goals in all competitions last season, but his return home was unplanned as Manchester United registered their lowest points in the Premier League.
Man United endured the fifth consecutive season without silverware and finished in sixth place, meaning no UEFA Champions League football in the 2022-23 campaign.
That is said to be the main reason Ronaldo wanted a new challenge, with Zambrotta supporting the 37-year-old to continue shooting wherever he worked.
“Ronaldo is a player who is making a difference right now. We have seen. The numbers say this,” Zambrotta said.
“I don’t know which team I should not know. Definitely a team that fights for the Champions League, a team that fights for a lot of goals.
“Because I’m sure he always wants to compete, until he retires. And I still think Ronaldo is a goal machine for any team he plays for.”
Ronaldo is the top scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 140 goals and has won four times with Real Madrid and Man United in his previous season.
He scored six goals in last season’s tournament but was unable to help United in the last 16, where they were knocked out by Atletico Madrid on two legs.
However, while Man United endured a vicious campaign under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and then Ralf Rangnick, Zambrotta did not see Ronaldo as the culprit.
“Let’s say he also needs his teammates,” said Zambrotta, who represented the likes of Juve, Barcelona and Milan, as he helped Italy win the 2006 World Cup.
“Even when Ronaldo was criticized for Juve, unable to advance to the Champions League, he has been making a statistically significant difference.
“Data, numbers mean this. You can & # 39; t think about the opposite of numbers.
“But he has always been a player who always made a difference in that vision.
Ronaldo is not the only big-name striker to leave the window, and Robert Lewandowski is also set to leave Bayern Munich.
Lewandowski scored 50 goals in 46 games in all competitions last season in his eight-year scoring campaign with Bayern, after 55 shutouts in 2019-20.
The grassroots striker has less than 12 months to sign his contract and has made no secret of his desire to leave as this week Barcelona have confirmed they have been put on the table.
It could lead to a bitter rift between Bayern and Lewandowski but, like Ronaldo, Zambrotta could understand why the player wanted to leave.
“I have always been adamant about not judging anyone because I do not know the personal details and the events that take place in each case,” he said.
“Everyone can find themselves at a certain point in their life or career that they have to change because they need new motivation, new energy.
“He needs to change places, see new faces, move to another stadium, meet new colleagues.
“Maybe at the time, it was just what the player deserved, so it doesn’t affect me and it could be that [Lewandowski] wants to change the mood. That’s all.”
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