Selecting 3 Christmas Gifts for Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has enjoyed a stellar 2014, scoring 56 goals in all competitions while helping Real Madrid to their 10th Champions League crown. Per Oddschecker, he is the clear, odds-on favourite to win this year’s Ballon d'Or.
With the Christmas season now upon us, it is time to think about the gifts we are going to purchase for our loved ones.
Imagine, though, if you were also required to buy a present for Ronaldo. What would you get a man who seems to have all the material things someone could wish for?
Here are our choices for three Christmas gifts for Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Please feel free to make your own suggestions in the comments section.
An Extension to House His Growing Trophy Collection
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Last December, Cristiano Ronaldo opened a museum in his own honour in Madeira, his birthplace.
As reported by the Telegraph, the museum featured his "2008 trophy for Europe’s best player and 125 other individual and team awards dating back to his childhood."
A year later, and at the rate at which he is currently accumulating personal and team awards, an extension to that museum is likely to be required in order to house all of his new silverware.
Since opening the museum, he has won the 2013 Ballon d'Or, the 2013-14 UEFA Best Player in Europe award and the 2013-14 LFP awards for the best forward and best overall player in La Liga, alongside another for the best goal for the year.
On Sunday he was awarded the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the year award.
And his second consecutive Ballon d'Or is expected to follow in the new year.
The services of an architect and building crew to construct an extension to his museum would therefore make for an ideal and very practical gift.
A Top-Quality Portuguese Striker
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In club football, Cristiano Ronaldo has won four league titles and two Champions League trophies, among other honours. But at international level, success continues to elude him.
Portugal were eliminated from this summer’s World Cup at the group stage, with a half-fit Ronaldo scoring just once in three appearances.
The 29-year-old was part of the sides that reached the final of Euro 2004 and the semi-finals of the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2012, but silverware has so far been beyond his grasp.
Considering the country’s relatively small population, the Portuguese system does brilliantly to produce a good number of quality players. However, the one position in which they have struggled to develop top-level talent is in the striking department.
To function at his best, Ronaldo needs to have a striker alongside him who is able to cause problems to opposing defences with good movement and link-up play and is also capable of finding the back of the net on a regular basis.
He has that at club level in Karim Benzema. But Portugal do not currently possess a player with those same abilities—a player capable of partially drawing some of the attention of opponents away from Ronaldo.
If Ronaldo could make just one wish to Santa Claus this year, it would likely be for St. Nick to provide him with a top-quality Portuguese striker.
Posters of Santillana, Alfredo Di Stefano and Raul
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Back in August, J. L. Calderon of Marca noted that Cristiano Ronaldo was closing in on Real Madrid’s top three goalscorers of all time.
At that point, Ronaldo had scored 255 goals for the club, putting him fourth on the overall list, behind Santillana (289), Alfredo Di Stefano (305) and Raul (323).
Twenty-nine goals later and Ronaldo is now within touching distance of Santillana. If he continues to score at his current rate, he could even surpass both Di Stefano and Raul by the end of the campaign.
And what better way to count off those three remaining targets than with a visualisation of each of the players.
Posters of the flying Santillana, the stately Di Stefano and the regal Raul would therefore make for excellent presents.
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