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Cristiano Ronaldo is a symbol of greatness. The Portuguese icon is arguably the best player ever to have graced the game of football. He, alongside rival Lionel Messi, has conquered almost every record and is still going strong.
Cristiano Ronaldo's graph has barely seen a dip throughout his illustrious career. Over the course of years, we have seen Ronaldo adapting to various styles of play as per different leagues and his growing age. He went from a master dribbler who left opponents in shambles at Manchester United to a prolific goal machine at Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo knows how to keep the limelight upon him.
The former Real Madrid No. 7 is nearing the age of 37. But we know how he is proving age to be nothing more than a mere number. While we discussed everything great about Cristiano Ronaldo in this article, let's take a look at Ronaldo's worst five calendar year performances.
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#5 2009 — 30 goals
We being in 2009. Even though 30 goals look like a decent enough number, the same is one of the worst calendar year performances in Cristiano Ronaldo's case.
That was the year we saw one of the most high profile transfers in football taking place. Ronaldo switched to Real Madrid from Manchester United for a then world record fee of £80 million. The move helped him raise the bar and since then, he has never seen a dip in his goal scoring numbers.
In 2009, Cristiano was seen struggling particularly with his national side. Of the seven appearances made that year, the former Juventus star collected just one goal. Nevertheless, that same year was nothing but the start of impending greatness.
#4 2006 — 25 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United days were filled with iconic performances. However, the Portuguese international wasn't initially known for his goal scoring exploits as in the latter stages of his career. Ronaldo was eye-candy for his dribbling skills and dangerous runs down the flank.
The younger self helped Cristiano Ronaldo punish the defenders with his quick feet and cheeky style of play. However, the same was a hurdle for him in finding the back of the net. We often saw Ronaldo taking up the job of frustrating the opponents and forcing them to make errors. Thus, paving the way for others to score.
Ronaldo had a fine year with Portugal in 2006. He scored six goals in total.
#3 2005 — 15 goals
Walking down memory lane, the year 2005 is when the world started to see a boy named Cristiano Ronaldo proving to be more than a 'wunderkind'.
In his second season at Old Trafford, a young Cristiano Ronaldo cemented his place among some of the best players from around Europe. Under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson, Cristiano Ronaldo evolved to be a mature and more complete player within a short span of time.
The then 20-year old Ronaldo was ready to take on the world and play as a supporting factor in his club and national team's attacking units. Cristiano Ronaldo wreaked havoc down the left flank. He was known to beat any number of defenders to slot the ball dangerously into the box.
While still earning name and fame as a lively player, in 2005 we saw Ronaldo net just 15 times for club and country.
#2 2004 — 13 goals
As mentioned before, the Manchester United man's numbers rarely saw a dip. With each year and season, Ronaldo has only raised his bar and the same has always been reflected on his stats sheet as well.
For us to see Cristiano Ronaldo's poor performances (only in terms of numbers), we will have to roll back a few years. All the way until the start of his career. Not to forget that Cristiano Ronaldo's poor performance is only by his own standards. If compared with other players, there is no doubt Ronaldo's worst would still be at par or even better than their best.
Back in 2004, the Madeira-native was still getting used to all the glitter, glory and intensity of the iconic league called the Premier League. It didn't take him much time to adapt to the fast-paced football in England. But it did take time for Ronaldo to become a regular scorer.
It was also the year when Cristiano Ronaldo played competitive international fixtures for the first time. He scored seven goals of Portugal that year alone.
#1 2003 — 1 goal
To find Cristiano Ronaldo's worst calendar year performance, we had to go all the way to the roots, the very starting point of his senior career.
From being a talented young kid at Sporting Lisbon's academy, Cristiano Ronaldo was promoted to the senior side in 2003 at the age of 18. He was still getting the hang of professional senior football. He was roped in by Sir Alex Ferguson to be a part of the dream team right after his sole senior season with Sporting Lisbon.
Ronaldo couldn't contribute much that year in terms of goal scoring. He scored just one for Sporting and was yet to make a senior appearance for the national side.
