FIFA predicts how long will Cristiano Ronaldo remain a top-rated player

What’s the story?

Cristiano Ronaldo is now 32 years of age and, according to many, heading towards the later years of his career in International football. At 32, Ronaldo has already done it all. A successful career at Manchester United was elevated to the next level at Real Madrid, recently securing back to back Champions League winner medals and solidifying himself as one of the world’s greatest players.

YouTuber Rich Leigh recently decided to track the future career of Cristiano in career mode as it happens in the next five years to see just how many years of class Ronaldo has left in him. The results, as you might imagine, were quite incredible.

In case you didn’t know…

Ronaldo has scored a whopping 285 goals in 265 games for Madrid and even at 32 years of age, there aren’t too many signs of slowing down. Ronaldo is also the cover star of FIFA 18 and widely tipped to secure the top spot in the player rankings once the game is released. Alongside Messi, Ronaldo has been the most dominant star that the game has produced in recent years.

His pace in FIFA has reduced a touch, as is the case in reality, but his acceleration and dribbling ability still remain among the highest in the game. His recent Champions League season solidified Cristiano as one of the best players under pressure as his goal in the final was pivotal for Real Madrid to secure back to back Champions Leagues.

The heart of the matter

As Rich Leigh noticed, aged 33, Ronaldo has reduced a little more in his pace and running attributes but still remains one of the top performers in the game in terms of dribbling and finishing ability. His overall rating is still above 90 which means that he isn’t close to the end just yet.

Rich then continues to track the Portuguese star’s career all the way till the age of 37 where Ronaldo shockingly now is rated just 74 overall. This is the final season for Cristiano according to the game indicating that he has a good five years still ahead of him. At 37, pace and acceleration have taken a severe beating, but finishing is still pretty healthy and shot power is an impressive 89. His positioning and vision remain high as well marking just how resolute the player is even in reality. It remains to be seen just how true these attributes actually turn out to be.

What’s next?

Ronaldo is certainly the best of the best when it comes to maintaining fitness and prolonging his career. The Portuguese starlet will do all in his power to ensure he comes out each season in peak condition to play football. His career will take a few turns and twists along the way, but in the next five years, the world expects him to still be somewhere near the top of his game.While this list isn’t the be all end all of Ronaldo’s entire career, it gives some valuable insight into what might be in store for the proud Galactico.

Author’s take

Quite similar to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo knows the importance of staying fit and tweaking his game to adapt to a changing body and age-related issues. He will surely come out with even better stats in the next five years and stay atop the football ladder. After all, form is temporary but class is permanent.