5 players who failed to live up to expectations after being dubbed as the next Cristiano Ronaldo

#3 Bruma

Bruma has been likened to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bruma is a Sporting Lisbon product like Cristiano Ronaldo. But unlike Ronaldo, Bruma's career never took off in the right earnest.

Once compared to Ronaldo, Bruma has had a far more modest career to merit comparisons with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. The 26-year-old winger has played in six different countries. But much like the others on this list, he never truly settled anywhere.

Now at PSV Eindhoven, Bruma has made a good start to the season, bagging three goals and an assist across all competitions.

---

#2 Jese Rodriguez

Jese Rodriguez (left) was once compared with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Jese Rodriguez is one of a handful of players dubbed the next Cristiano Ronaldo, considering his ability to dribble and score goals.

The winger scored a truckload of goals for Real Madrid Castilla, but found the transition to the first team a bridge too far. Jese played three seasons alongside Ronaldo at Real Madrid. But he scored only 18 times in three seasons before he was shipped off to PSG.

Now playing in the Segunda Division with Las Palmas, Jese is nowhere close to emulating Ronaldo's exploits.

---

#1 Adnan Januzaj

Adnan Januzaj has struggled to live up to Ronaldo's exploits.

Adnan Januzaj made a bright start to life at Manchester United, much like Ronaldo, scoring a brace on his league debut. He drew comparisons with Ronaldo because of his dribbling and scoring prowess. But the winger failed to build on that early promise.

As things turned out, apart from sharing a birthday, Januzaj shares very few similarities with Ronaldo. Like the others on the list, Januzaj's career exploits have been far too modest to merit comparisons with the Portuguese. The Belgian moved to Sunderland in 2016, but his career never really took off.

Now at Real Sociedad, the 26-year-old winger has scored just once in eight games across competitions. He still has time to have a decent career, but he is unlikely to come close to matching Ronaldo's exploits.