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#3 Cristiano Ronaldo has switched from a winger to a centre-forward
In his early Manchester United days, Sir Alex Ferguson used to deploy Cristiano Ronaldo as a right-winger. However, the Portuguese embarked on the best phase of his Manchester United career following the arrival of Carlos Tevez. Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo formed a deadly attacking trio and the three would interchange positions all the time.
Ronaldo would pop up on the left wing and centrally as well and he was scoring a lot more goals. He was in fact the top scorer in the 2007-08 Premier League season, scoring 31 goals. At Real Madrid, Ronaldo was used as a left forward and he was a menacing presence down the left flank.
But by the time he joined Juventus, age was starting to catch up with Ronaldo. He just wasn't as pacy as before. He improved his finishing skills even more and started playing as a centre-forward. His primary duty was to score goals and he has proved to be one of the best at it.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo has become a target man thanks to his incredible aerial ability
In his latter years at Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo was already getting real good with his leap. Over the course of the years, it has been an area of his game that he has put a considerable amount of work into and improved.
Traditionally, centre-forwards were expected to dominate aerial duels inside the box or hold up the ball and finish them off. The role of the centre-forward has definitely evolved over the years and it's more nuanced these days. However, traditional values can often help teams when they run out of other options.
Ronaldo's incredible vertical leap has now made him one of the most dangerous forwards in aerial duels. As his long-range shooting ability has dipped in recent years, his poaching skills have upgraded. Ronaldo scored six headed goals in Serie A in the 2020-21 season.
It is interesting to note that this is a measured move that Cristiano Ronaldo made. His set-piece and long-range shooting prowess had dipped considerably and he had to find a new avenue to score goals. He scored 36 goals in 44 appearances across all competitions for Juventus this past season. The results speak for themselves.
#1 Less involved in playmaking
Following his change in positions, Cristiano Ronaldo usually operates a lot more in and around the box than he used to. His playmaking had become a huge part of his game in his last couple of seasons at Manchester United. But playing on the left wing at Real Madrid, he became even better at it.
In his first season at Real Madrid, Ronaldo scored 33 goals and provided 11 assists in 35 appearances across all competitions. In the 2010-11 season, his numbers rose to 53 goals and 18 assists. He registered 15 and 13 assists in the 2011-12 season and the 2012-13 season, respectively.
But since the 2016-17 season, his contribution in terms of assists has dropped considerably. This has a lot to do with the change in his role and the focus shifting to scoring goals. In his first season at Juventus, Ronaldo still assisted a total of 11 goals in 43 appearances.
But those numbers have dropped considerably over the past two seasons. Ronaldo made just seven assists in the 2019-20 season. In 2020-21, he racked up just four assists. Cristiano Ronaldo has clearly become a lot less involved in the playmaking department and there is a clear shift in terms of the areas on which he is focusing.
