Ronaldo determined to beat the age barrier
At the age of 33, many football players are past their peak. Cristiano Ronaldo vows to show he is not one of them.
Juventus signed Ronaldo from Real Madrid last week for €112 million (NZ$193.6M) – an Italian league record sum – and the world player of the year penned a four-year contract.
Some see it as an extravagant sum for a player who, although a five-time Ballon d’or winner, is entering the latter stages of a glittering career.
At his first news conference as a Juventus player yesterday, Ronaldo insisted he was motivated by a new challenge and keen to step out of his comfort zone after nine years at Madrid.
‘‘With all due respect, usually players of my age go to Qatar or China, so coming to such an outstanding club at this stage in my career makes me happy,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m different from all the other players who think their career is over at my age. I want to show that I’m not like the others, I’m different. It’s an emotional moment for me because I’m not 23, I’m 33.
‘‘I’m not here on holiday,’’ he added. ‘‘I want to mark the history of Juventus. I hope I can surprise everyone one last time and I’m very, very confident.’’
The Portugal forward moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009, and became the Spanish club’s all-time leading scorer with 451 in 438 matches. He helped Madrid win four Champions Leagues – beating Juventus in the final in 2017 – and also won La Liga and the Copa del Rey twice each.