As recently as January 2016, Real Madrid were a club in crises. Having been defeated 4-0 by Barcelona in late November, kicked out of the Copa del Rey in the round of 32 after fielding an ineligible player and dropping points to both Villarreal and Valencia in the space of a few weeks, manager Rafa Benitez was given his marching orders on January 3rd.
When it comes to professional sports, there are players that can do things that leave even the most casual fans amazed. Two such examples: Cristiano Ronaldo's ability to take a penalty kick and Aroldis Chapman 's ability to throw a fastball.
Both acts are amazing to witness. Both leave opponents feeling helpless. But which is harder: stopping Ronaldo or getting a hit off Chapman?
Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Real Madrid training on Wednesday with his fitness still a major concern for Real supporters. Ronaldo injured his knee during Portugal’s Euro 2016 final victory over France, and there’s still no firm timetable for his return.
The injury that forced Cristiano Ronaldo to withdraw from the Euro 2016 final may cause him to miss Real Madrids opening La Liga match against Real Sociedad. With the game coming on the 21st of August, Ronaldo is a major doubt for Los Blancos.
Ronaldo has been given an extended break following his exertions in France, but the forward would’ve been unable to train with Real even if he’d wanted to. Ronaldo sprained his left knee in the final against France, and there’s no confirmed date for his return.
Getting 100 milion followers on Facebook is a feat of popularity so insane that only three people thus far have managed it. Cristiano Ronaldo, Shakira and Vin Diesel are so popular if their Facebook followings were countries they would each be one of the most populous on Earth. When we discovered this information, we couldn't help but notice one commonality among the trio: the beautiful game. We'll explain.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is hawking blankets now. Really. Watch this video if you're comfortable with watching Cristiano pretend to be surprised by a camera crew in bed.
Would you pay $130 for a @Cristiano Ronaldo blanket?
(via Elite Team / Vimeo) pic.twitter.com/ZJZHhOKyIj
It's the offseason, which means the soccer news cycle is dominated by unsubstantiated transfer rumors and pictures of players on boats. As little as most people care about how everyone's vacation is going, we feel compelled to report it anyway because we're a soccer website and our rent isn't going to pay itself. That's why we're going to tell you about Cristiano Ronaldo going to a Jennifer Lopez concert.
Yes, Ronaldo went to a Jennifer Lopez concert in Las Vegas. Kim Kardashian was there too. And Calvin Harris.
We have to hand it to Cristiano Ronaldo, he's much braver than us.
Ronaldo showed up at Conor McGregor's gym in Las Vegas and took some pictures and put them on Instagram.
Que alguien llame a TMZ. Es demasiado bueno para ser verdad. Messi y Ronaldo aparentemente han atracado sus yates a pocos metros de distancia en Ibiza en cada una de sus vacaciones (por separado, creemos) con amigos y familiares.
Okay... relájate. Alguien ya ha llamado a TMZ. Lo cual es bueno. Porque esta convergencia de superestrellas globales en un solo lugar es suficiente para enviar a cualquier paparazzi de vuelta a un estado pre-adolescente de mojar la cama.