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Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably one of the finest players to have graced the beautiful game.
During an illustrious career for club and country, he has scored goals and won big titles galore. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is still going strong at the age of 36, having recently returned to Manchester United after 12 years.
A prolific two-footed scorer, Ronaldo is known for his aerial prowess and versatility across the attacking third. Unsurprisingly, many players, most of them from Portugal, over the years, have been compared with Ronaldo. However, no one has come close to matching his exploits.
On that note, here's a look at five such players (in no particular order) who were dubbed the next Cristiano Ronaldo, but failed to live up to expectations. Without further ado, let's get started:
#5 Gabriel Obertan
After Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United in the summer of 2009, Gabriel Obertan was signed as a like-for-like replacement. Obertan was a raw talent at the time and was pursued by the likes of AC Milan and Barcelona, among others.
Obertan had said on his arrival at Old Trafford:
"Ferguson has put me at ease. He said to me that he knows my pros and cons. It's my potential that interests him. He has confidence in me. It is flattering and surprising. “But I know I still have a lot of work to do to get to Ronaldo's level."
However, the former Bordeaux winger never adapted to English football, despite receiving rave reviews for his performances in France. Obertan scored just nine times in two seasons before he was shipped off to Newcastle United.
Perhaps his move to United came too soon, or the step up from Ligue 1 to the Premier League was too steep for Obertan to bridge. A decade later, the 32-year-old plies his trade for Charlotte Independence in the American second division.
#4 Alvaro Vadillo
Former Real Betis winger Alvaro Vadillo was touted as the next Cristiano Ronaldo when he first arrived on the scene in 2011.
However, the 'next Ronaldo' tag has weighed heavily on the Spaniard, who has also been plagued by injuries over the years. The now 26-year-old, who is also a left winger like Ronaldo, has struggled to emulate the exploits of the Portuguese.
Vadillo has played over 200 games across age groups for six different clubs. But he has only managed modest returns of 20 goals and 28 assists. Once a target for Manchester United, Vadillo now plies his trade in Spain's Segunda Division with Espanyol.
#3 Bruma
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 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 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.
