Cristiano Ronaldo is widely renowned as an independent performer. But even the greatest players require support.
SunSport has selected a team of players who have regularly played alongside Real Madrid and Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo over his career, including three former Manchester United teammates while John O’Shea doesn’t make the cut.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Futbol (commonly referred to as Los Blancos or The Whites) are an iconic Spanish association football club based out of Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain. Real has won more championship titles in Spain’s top division than any other team while also holding 14 European Cup/Champions League crowns since 1899.
Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009 as their highest-profile signing. Soon thereafter he quickly established himself as one of the game’s greatest players and was often referred to as “La Liga’s best player.”
Ronaldo became the first player ever to score 40 goals across two leagues during a single season and win FIFA’s World Player of the Year award.
Real Madrid currently features Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Gareth Bale in their current squad, led by captain Xabi Alonso and with goalkeepers Diego Lopez and Iker Casillas between them; midfielders Luka Modric, Isco and Angel di Maria round off this formidable group.
Manchester United
Manchester United is one of the world’s most beloved clubs, boasting more than 333 million supporters worldwide. These loyal and passionate followers, known as The Red Army, make matchdays an exciting spectacle at their stadium.
Ronaldo joined United before 2003 season and went on to achieve tremendous success with them, winning three Premier League and one Champions League trophy before moving on to Real Madrid in 2009. Ronaldo quickly earned himself the nickname of “The King of Champions”, known for scoring late goals to help seal victories – his early victory helped earn him his first of five Ballon d’Or awards during this time.
Xabi Alonso and Luka Modric from Manchester United’s team-mate roster also earned places in Ronaldo’s XI. Ryan Giggs made up just the numbers with 201 appearances total. Karim Benzema completed the squad with 342 games together with Ronaldo.
Juventus
Juventus Football Club was established in 1897 and listed on the Italian Stock Market shortly afterwards. Since its foundation, it has become the most successful club both nationally and internationally, winning 59 official competitions such as 34 Scudetto titles (league championship) and 2 UEFA Champions League tournaments.
Furthermore, two-time Coppa Italia titles were won as well.
The Juventus logo consists of an oval enclosed within a rectangle placed within a light gold frame. The wordmark features sans-serif font writing, with “Juventus” written above it.
After leaving Real Madrid in 2018, Ronaldo signed with Italian Serie A giant Juventus for roughly $132 million in 2018. His move paid dividends, helping Juventus win two league championships and a 2021 Supercoppa Italia championship before being penalised with points deduction by UEFA due to “improper accounting practices.” Since then, however, Agnelli family have replaced all board members at Juventus while financial issues at the club still have yet to be addressed fully.
Al Nassr
Signing Ronaldo as one of Al Nassr’s players was considered an enormous coup for Saudi Arabian soccer and has increased popularity of their league immensely. His arrival has provided Al Nassr with one of its greatest ever players – one who will go down as one of its all-time greats!
Al Nassr FC of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia competes in the Saudi Pro League and has amassed 28 official titles – nine Saudi Premier League championships, three Federation Cups, six King’s Cups, two Arab Club Champions Cups. Furthermore, Al Nassr also takes part in AFC Champions League competition for Asia.
Al Nassr FC made headlines worldwide when they signed Cristiano Ronaldo for an unprecedented transfer fee of $200 Million. Ronaldo’s signing marked a turning point in their club and attracted much international media coverage.
