Cristiano Ronaldo

In a huge piece of investigative journalism, Madrid daily newspaper Marca reported the Cristiano Ronaldo Instagram account unfollowed Real Madrid on Friday. What a scoop!

More importantly, The18 can now confirm that Cristiano Ronaldo will not be back with Real Madrid this season, instead moving to Juventus. Because we all know a breakup isn’t official until social media accounts are unfollowed. 

So, um, does any of this matter?

For better and for worse, Vinícius Júnior is already looking an awful lot like Cristiano Ronaldo, the man he’s ostensibly at Real Madrid to replace. From impressive Vinícius Júnior skill to enraging flops against Manchester United on Tuesday night, the 18-year-old Brazilian appears to have everything it takes to fill the giant void on Los Blancos’ left wing.

Cristiano Ronaldo reported for his first day of preseason training with Juventus yesterday, and although the Portuguese legend looked pretty chummy in photographs with fellow striker Gonzalo Higuain, the arrival of The 120 Million Dollar Man obviously spelled the end of the Argentine’s two-year stay in Turin.

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After years of legal complications with the Spanish government, tax evasion and fraud, Cristiano Ronaldo and Spain’s tax agency reached a deal and a two-year prison sentence. The Ronaldo tax settlement will cost the Juventus forward $22 million. The jail term is suspended given Spain’s no-prison law for first-time offenders of non-violent crimes if the term is two years or less.

For too many years already, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have absolutely dominated the discussion surrounding who is the best soccer player in the world. The Argentinean and the Portuguese have formed a hegemonic dynasty that's lasted since at least 2008. To find a Ballon d'Or winner other than Messi and Ronaldo, one has to travel all the way to 2007 when Brazilian star Kaká won the prize, and he's now retired. 

What do R&B singer R. Kelly, plastic surgery-obsessed Los Angelenos and Cristiano Ronaldo have in common? For them, age is nothing but number. Certainly, the 33-year-old has shown he can more than hang with the the best of young bucks as he finished as Champions League top scorer this past season and helped to bring home the third trophy in a row for Real Madrid.

Sure, fancy cars, mansions and lavish vacations are a few of the places famous footballers drop their cash but a lot of the great ones are also known for putting their large bank accounts to more worthwhile causes. Kylian Mbappe made everyone with a pulse explode with good feels this week when he announced he would be donating his $350,000 World Cup bonus to charity.

The Vinícius Júnior Real Madrid transfer was the headline of the day on Friday.

President Florentino Pérez is looking to replace legend Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese moved to Italy’s Juventus.

Numerous consolidated players and World Cup stars have been said to be Ronaldo’s replacement, but none of those rumors have materialized just yet.

Less than a week after Ronaldo made his move to Juventus official, his former manager at Real Madrid is set to join him at the Old Lady. The Zinedine Zidane Juventus connection extends back to the prime of his career. Zidane spent five seasons at Juventus from 1996-2001, during which time he won a Ballon d'Or and finished runner-up in the Champions League twice.

Fresh off his holiday in Greece following Portugal’s Round of 16 elimination at the hands of Uruguay, Cristiano Ronaldo has sauntered into Turin with fans baying for some “Siiuuu!” and a first Champions League crown since 1996.