Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid yesterday after nine years with Los Blancos to join Juventus in a deal worth £99.2 million. His former club have paid tribute to him with a brilliant video.
In 2009, after establishing himself as one of the best players on the planet playing for Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid for a then world record fee of £80 million, nine years and a lot of goals later he's finally left.
It's not many players that can move nine years later for even more money and he became the most expensive player over the age of 30 yesterday but it's no surprise when at 33 he's scoring 43 goals for his club in a season.
After admitting he wanted to leave following the final whistle in Real's third Champions League win in a row it's not too surprising that the team have let him go.
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But in his nine years there Ronaldo became the club's leading scorer by bagging 450 goals in just 438 games. A ridiculous ratio but when compared to Raul's 323 in 741 it puts into stark reality just how astronomical a player he's been for the club.
So it's no surprise they put together a brilliant montage video to say thank you to him:
In a statement on Real's website yesterday the five time Ballon d'Or winner said, "These years in Real Madrid, and in this city of Madrid, have been possibly the happiest of my life.
"I only have feelings of enormous gratitude for this club, for this hobby and for this city. I can only thank all of them for the love and affection I have received.
"However, I believe that the time has come to open a new stage in my life and that is why I have asked the club to accept transferring me. I feel that way and I ask everyone, and especially our followers, to please understand me.
"They have been absolutely wonderful for 9 years. They have been 9 unique years. It has been an exciting time for me, full of consideration but also hard because Real Madrid is of a very high demand, but I know very well that I will never forget that I have enjoyed football here in a unique way."
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It's weird to think about Real with Ronaldo now, both start new chapters and both have been better for the last nine year.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Juventus, Transfer news, Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid