No Ronaldo? No Problem for Real Madrid

After nine successful years at Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo has done the unthinkable this season. His summer transfer to Juventus took many by surprise and upset many a Real Fan. For so long now, Ronaldo and Real Madrid have been practically synonymous with each other. No longer.

After Ronaldo had spent about six years tearing up defences in England, convinced of his huge potential, in July of 2009, Real Madrid paid a then world record fee of £80 million for his services. So, he arrived at Madrid already a Ballon d'Or winner.

At Madrid he had truly become one of the greatest players to ever play the game, eclipsing legends such as Raul, Puskas and De Stephano, at least in terms of goals. With 450 goals in just 438 appearances, he is easily Madrid's all-time top scorer.

He has also directly contributed to what has been a hugely successful decade at the Bernabeu, with Madrid winning 16 trophies in that time period. These successes have also won him the Ballon d'Or a stunning four more times. So, its safe to say that both Ronaldo and the club have helped each other immensely. Why then, did he leave?

It's simple. He was tired of facing those pesky tax fraud allegations amid, what he perceived was a lack of support from the club. Or maybe, he wanted a new contract to ensure that he was financially at the same level as his eternal rival Leo Messi, who recently was awarded a new contract at Barcelona and Neymar, who also received a blockbuster contract upon his record-breaking transfer to Paris Saint Germain.

Or maybe, he felt his work at Real Madrid was done and felt like he needed a new challenge elsewhere. The truth is, we can't really say.

Now, let's arrive at the one question Real Madrid fans will be asking themselves, after this transfer, How will Madrid go about without Cristiano?

One man's transfer, two men's opportunity.

With the exception of three seasons, Cristiano Ronaldo had scored 50+ goals every season at Real Madrid. Madrid now lack a dedicated goalscorer who can put the ball in the back of the net consistently. Bale is not an out and out goalscorer, and neither is Karim Benzema, having spent the better part of his career playing second fiddle to Ronaldo.

The only solution it would seem is to go all out and sign a Galactico, who can replace Ronaldo, at least in terms of goals scored. Players like Neymar, Lewandowski, Kane and Mbappe come to mind. But this approach too seems to be in doubt, following some contradictory remarks from the club president, Florentino Perez.

Despite going on record to say that big signings could be expected this season, he later clarified that youth signings Vinicius Jr, Alvaro Odriozola and Andriy Lunin were the big signings he was talking about. So, for the first time since before Raul, Madrid are without a proven goalscorer to match Messi and Suarez.

So, will Madrid manage to maintain their lofty standards? Of course, only time will give us a decisive answer. But, Madrid are far from helpless. Finally relieved of the burden of playing second fiddle to Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema could shine this season. Isco can also star this season and come good on his tremendous promise.

We may also see improved first-team roles for talented youngsters such as Asensio and Kovacic ( Provided he stays at Madrid) and more game time for players like Lucas Vazquez. While it isn't yet clear if Vinicius Jr will stay with the squad or go out on loan to gain first team experience, he also seems like a promising back up option.

In short, Madrid are definitely not short on talented players to replace Ronaldo. We can expect their playing style to vary though. With no single player probably capable of getting 40-50 goals this season, the goals will be more spread out throughout the squad.

Even Ronaldo-less, Madrid are definitely not helpless. Though it may take some time for them to adjust to the loss of their all-time top goalscorer, we could see a renewed Madrid this season, only time will tell.