3 players who can replace Ronaldo at Madrid

After 9 glorious years, Cristiano Ronaldo era ended at Real Madrid. He will go down in the history of Madrid as arguably the greatest player of all time.

Ronaldo during his time at Madrid scored 450 goals in just 438 games and won 16 trophies including 4 Champions League and 2 La Liga titles. He has left a legacy that will almost be impossible to match by any other player.

He helped Madrid rise again and rule the footballing world. He signed for them when Madrid were going through a very tough time and their bitter rivals Barcelona were ruling the world. He not only helped them rise again but also helped them in surpassing them and conquering the club football again.

As he leaves Real Madrid, he leaves a void that will be impossible to fill. Madrid would need to act quickly to get a player who can minimize the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Here we take a look at the players who can replace Cristiano Ronaldo at Madrid.

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#3 Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

Hazard to Madrid?

Eden Hazard's Chelsea future has been up in the air for a while now. While his current deal expires in 2019, there has been no talk of a renewal going on. Before the World Cup started Eden Hazard gave a statement which looked more like a come-and-get-me plea to Madrid saying that if Madrid want him, they know what to do.

Eden Hazard has had a great World Cup and is a world-class player. His numbers in terms of assists and goals aren't great but you will like to put that down to the fact that he plays in a very defensive system at Chelsea. He might not score as many as Ronaldo does but he surely is able to create a plethora of chances for his teammates as evident by his chance creation rate of 3 per 90 minutes in Premier League last season.

Eden Hazard is more than capable of becoming the leader of the attack at Real Madrid and could help Madrid maintain the level of recent success. He will fit right into Lopetegui's system as a left winger as Lopetegui likes to have wingers who can help in creating chances as seen with his stint at Spain. He will be the perfect addition as a winger and will be someone who Lopetegui will love to have to rely upon.

Not only that, out of all the possible options, Eden Hazard is the easiest for Madrid to get their hands on and also the cheapest considering he has just 1 year left on his current Chelsea contract and he could be lured considering Chelsea are not playing in Champions League next season.

#2 Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

One for the future. Can Mbappe replace Ronaldo??

Kylian Mbappe is destined to become a footballing great. He came to limelight at AS Monaco last season and has never look back after that. He has caught the imagination of the world with his brilliant footballing skills and has footballing intelligence beyond his age.

After a very successful season with Monaco, he moved to PSG on loan which is now a permanent for a deal for 180 million Euros. At PSG, he formed a very lethal front trio alongside Cavani and Neymar scoring 21 goals and assisting 16 more. He has done exceedingly well at World Cup for France scoring 3 goals till quarter-finals and has literally carried their hopes till now.

He can turn out to be the perfect Ronaldo replacement over long-term. However, hoping for him to fill those big boots immediately would be a stretch. He is still 19 years old and has a long road ahead of him. He will solve long-term problems and he can play the way Lopetegui wants. Lopetegui likes strikers who can contribute to general play apart from just goalscoring and Mbappe ticks all the boxes. Add to that the fact that he can play across the front line as a striker or as a winger, Mbappe will be the perfect addition for Lopetegui's Real Madrid.

He has shown enough signs that he could become a legend and has achieved great things just at the age of 19. Mbappe, without doubt, is the best young talent out there and Madrid would benefit if they do sign him.

The fact that PSG are under FFP cloud gives Real Madrid a hope to sign him now, as they were in for him last summer too but were beaten to his signature by PSG.

#1 Neymar (PSG)

Will Neymar finally move to Real Madrid?

Neymar Jr has been linked with a move to Real Madrid for eternity. He could have moved to the capital club at a very young age but things didn't go well then. Even in 2013, when he moved to Barcelona, Madrid made a move for him but again as destiny would have it he ended up signing for Barcelona.

And for last 2 months, he has been linked with a move to the capital club again. Neymar Jr is a fantastic player, someone tipped to take over the mantle as world's best once Messi and Ronaldo go down. His antics in World Cup hasn't gone well but that doesn't take away the fact that he is an unbelievable talent who has been doing consistently well for last 3-4 seasons.

Lopetegui would love to have Neymar at his disposal who can do it all in attack. Neymar can create and score and will provide Lopetegui with the perfect protagonist in attack. He will provide Lopetegui with the penetration that he didn't had Spain and will add another edge to Madrid's already great attack.

He moved to PSG last summer for a world record fees of 222 million Euros and signing him would be very tough for Real Madrid. But again PSG troubles with FFP could play a role in them letting him go to comply with the regulations.

So will it finally be the season where Neymar would move to Real Madrid?? I guess we need to sit back and watch. But right now if there is a player who can come closer than any other player to replace Ronaldo in Madrid, then it has to be Neymar.

He has a huge fan following which gives him immense marketing potential and an unquestionable footballing talent. He is more than capable of winning a Ballon De Ore and raising the whole team up with his performances.