Cristiano Ronaldo threw massive amounts of shade on MLS with comments about his retirement
Cristiano Ronaldo feels like he’s been around in the top level of the soccer world for eternity. One of the most skilled players in the history of the sport, the Portuguese star has only been with two clubs since he was 18 years old: two of the biggest clubs in the world in the Premier League’s Manchester United and La Liga’s Real Madrid.
However, the 30-year-old Ronaldo isn’t going to play forever, as much as many people would love to watch him perform at the level he does for the rest of their lives. There’s going to come a time in the relatively near future when his skills start to dissipate and he’s no longer the dominant force on the pitch that we as fans have grown accustomed to season. Ronaldo is not unaware of this fact.
Rumors have been popping up over the past few months about Ronaldo being open to the idea of a move to MLS at the end of his career, the Real Madrid forward seemed to stomp those rumors into ground as he appeared on an English talk show on Friday. Ronaldo said:
"In my mind I want to finish in the top level. I want to finish with dignity so in a good club.It doesn’t mean that to go USA or Qatar or Dubai is not good but I don’t see myself [going]."
All due respect to Ronaldo, but saying that you want to go out with a top club and then specifically mentioning MLS and leagues in the Middle East as places you don’t want to finish your career is definitely saying that they are not good.
In recent years, we’ve seen a flurry of European stars come to play in MLS at the tail end of their careers, the likes of Thierry Henry, Steven Gerrard, David Villa, and Andrea Pirlo all come to mind. However, these recent comments from Ronaldo make it pretty cut-and-dry that he won’t be the next European star to make his way to the states once his run in Europe is done.
H/T to Pro Soccer Talk