Real Madrid ridiculed for letting go of ‘machine’ Ronaldo

A man who has cemented his legacy as arguably the best in history shouldn’t have been allowed to leave Santiago Bernabeu, says Luis Castro.

Cristiano Ronaldo had already made known of his quality to the world when he signed for Real Madrid on a then world-record €90 million move.

But not even the most optimistic of Madridistas or even pundits at the time imagined how deep CR7 was going to imprint his name in the hearts of the Los Blancos faithful or football fans in general.

Four Ballon d’Or, three European Golden Shoe, as many Pichichi Trophy, two FIFA Best Player of the Year, and a La Liga Best Player, among a plethora of other accolades was won by the phenomenal forward during his nine-year stint at the Spanish capital.

Los Blancos had always been a dominant force in Spain as well as in Europe and became even more so during the forward’s stay as he brought them 15 major trophies – including two La Liga and four Champions League.

If all those weren’t enough to hand him the status of the greatest player in the history of the club, he became their record goalscorer, putting up a mouthwatering tally of 450 goals in 438 games.

In what came as shock in the summer of 2018, Ronaldo was transferred to Juventus for €100 million.

Real Madrid have since experienced difficulties in countering the loss of his absence, and Luis Castro can’t seem to comprehend why they sold the prolific Portuguese in the first place.

“When you have Cristiano on your team you should never let him go. Never,” the Shakhtar Donetsk head coach, a compatriot of Ronaldo, told Marca.

“We are talking about the best, the most effective footballer in the world, a machine, a machine of sacrifice.”