What Does The Future Hold? - Cristiano Ronaldo's Heir

What Does The Future Hold? 

This Episode: The Next Ronaldo

Good afternoon. This article is something I think could spark a few discussions in and around the community, maybe spark a few ideas and give people an insight into the future, hopefully. What is this, you may ask? Well, basically I am going to simulate 7 years into the future, and pick out who I think could be the successor to Ronaldo's ledgendary throne. I will judge these players on 5 categories. Here are those categories. 

Category/Player 1 - Playing For Real Madrid

Category/Player 2 - Same Nationality As Ronaldo

Category/Player 3 - Similar Attributes To Ronaldo

Category/Player 4 - Similar Statistics To Ronaldo

Category/Player 5 - Similar Career Path To Ronaldo

So, they are the 5 types of players I'm going to be showing you in this article. I personally feel number 5,4 and 1 could be interesting, however I hope they all keep you hooked. Anyway, the door is open, feel free to step inside the time machine. There might be a bang, but don't worry, everything should work ok. The first test subject only got electrocuted, so it shouldn't be too bad. Hopefully....

Category 1 - Playing For Real Madrid

Wow! That was fast! Welcome to 2023, a strange place where United have won 6 titles in a row, Ancelotti just retired, leaving Bayern after years of success, and Mexico are preparing to host the World Cup. In this category, we are going to look at the player who is making a legacy at Madrid currently, just like Ronaldo is, or did. 

Super Gabriel is our pick for Category one, being Madrid's new talisman after Ronaldo's sudden retirement a few years ago. Some of his stats look incredible, including the 19's in Shooting, Movement and Dribbling, and a solid 15 Technique amongst other things. How has he taken to life in Madrid? 

He has managed to bang in a good amount of goals, not quite hitting Ronaldo's other worldly standards however. He has just lead Madrid to their first title since the beggining of the simulation though, and their first CL Title. Apart from that though, it has been rather underwhelming. In conclusion, I think Jesus looks good on paper, but isn't quite the next Ronaldo. Remember to leave your thoughts on him with a comment. 

Category 2 - Same Nationality As Ronaldo

I've tried to keep these fairly unknown players, but it's quite hard to build up somebody as the new Ronaldo without solid evidence. After a rather underwhelming trip to the Bernabau, we head to the red side of Madrid where we visit Ronaldo's national counterpart....

Diogo Jota! His international record is good, with a solid 17 strikes in just under 50 caps. Aswell as this, he has some overwhelming stats that put him on par with Gabriel Jesus, including 18 Dribbling, 20 Movement and 17 Shooting. He definately looks like he could rival Ronaldo's legacy, can he though?

I would say so. 102 strikes in 7 years at Atletico from the left wing, he has certainly been an asset for them, helping their domestic and European performances. Aswell as this, he has racked up a fair amount of assists in his time in Spain. However, he hasn't managed to win anything with Portugal, unlike Ronaldo. Their best achievement in the Jota era is a Runners Up medal in the European International League, which isn't impressive at all. In conclusion, I think we can definately say he is up there, but just a bit off the level of the Ledgendary Ronaldo. 

Category 3 - Similar Attributes To Ronaldo

This one is a bit difficult to judge. After our trip to Madrid, we need to visit Madeira to ask Sir Ronaldo himself about his stats from his playing days so we can judge....

Ah, right. He might be being a bit bias here, I mean it is Ronaldo. Anyway, I suppose we better go hunting. Just imagine some of that music you get whilst your on hold on the phone for a minute....

Right, I've got it. Behold! 

Anderson Talisca is my pick for Category 3. Some incredible playing stats, his mentals and physicals aren't as good but I think his statistics later on will make up for it. Some of his incredible stats include a quality 18 Shooting, 16 Technique and an array of 15's. But can this translate into Ronaldo-like stats?

Missing his 24 goal season below the end of the stat chart, but wow. In his 6 years at SLB, he has banged in a quality 126 goals. If we compare that to Ronaldo's 6 years at United, he has scored 42 more than Ronaldo. This is no normal feat, and means Talisca is the best goalscorer we have come across since the start of our journey. Aswell as this, he just lead SLB to the Europa League final, where they unfortunately lost. In conclusion, I think Talisca is the closest we have seen to Ronaldo's legacy so far, with some incredible attributes and stats. 

Category 4 - Similar Statistics To Ronaldo

For this one, we need to see Ronaldo's career stats to date. These are placed below. 

Games: 465

Goals: 352

Wow! Maybe he was a bit bias again, but it doesn't matter. I've typed these stats into the time machine, and into the wilderness we go!

This lad is very well rounded. We travelled to Milan to see if there was a top superstar, and it seems the time machine got it right. Cornet possess fantastic physicals, including an eyewatering 19 Pace! Accompany this with his 16 Shooting and 19 Movement, and it shows why he is so prolific. 

Now now, I agree. Nowhere near the stats of Ronaldo, but to be fair, is it realistic to be? All of the lads I looked at who played in similar positions had nowhere near that number, so in the end I put it down to 1 thing. Who is most prolific? Cornet has an average of around 13 goals a season, which makes him Inter's top scorer most seasons. Alongside this, he has lead Inter to a Runners-Up medal in the Italian Cup and Super Cup. In conclusion, I don't believe Cornet is quite up to Ronaldo's standards as he isn't as successful or statistically there, but not the worst we've seen. 

Category 5 - Similar Career Path To Ronaldo

Ah! Back to the futuristic Madrid we go, where Casillas and Arbeloa own a Pub near the Bernabau. Hopefully, we have picked someone not many of you have heard of hear in En Nesyri. Some of his attributes look immense, almost replicating a young Ronaldo himself. A brilliant 20 for Shooting and Dribbling, aswell as 15 Aerial and 17 Pace makes him almost the perfect striker, capable of scoring with any part of his body. Aswell as this, he averages 0.75 Goals Per Game for Morocco, which is no mean feat. 

How does this follow Ronaldo's path you ask? Well, he starts at his youth team, impressing and making a breakthrough. He goes for a big money move, in this case to Dortmund for a massive 25 Million Pounds. Finally, his performances earn him a big money move to Madrid, except the other one. His career has been phenomenal so far, becoming Atletico's major threat and averaging 14.4 goals a year for the Madrid based side. In conclusion, I believe En Nesyri's prolific nature and similarity to both Ronaldo's career path and International exploits with Morroco mean he is maybe the best contender for Ronaldo's throne. 

The Verdict

After judging 5 players based on certain categories, I think it's fair to say it comes down to 3 players to take Ronaldo's crown. In my opinion, it's between Anderson Talisca, En Nesyri and Diogo Jota. Jota's goalscoring exploits for Atletico, accompanied by his incredible stats and national relation to Ronaldo make him a good candidate, however he didn't seem prolific enough I'm my opinion for the Portugal national team, and didn't lift them to the heights Ronaldo did. Talisca was born goalscorer, hitting a very respectable number of goals in his career so far at SLB. On the other hand, his stats weren't a match to those of CR7's in the height of his powers and he didn't enjoy any major success with Benfica. En Nesyri's career path has almost been a carbon copy of Ronaldo's, except for different types of teams. His national record for Morrocco is immense, aswell as his club record for Atletico. The only downside is his stale shooting at his previous clubs, aswell as not being as statistically well rounded. If I had to pick a player to take the reigns off Ronaldo, it would be En Nesyri, as his overall player ability, stats and attributes are more convincing than anything I have seen in my time in 2023. However, your opinion is very valuable and I want to know what YOU think. 

Thanks for reading this piece. I especially enjoyed writing this and would love to turn it into a mini series. If you want to see this, make sure to let me know which player I should pick next to find his heir. Remember to leave your thought on this article!

 

 

[Nick11]

Diogo Jota  because he has been scoring consistently. Scored good amount of goal although nowhere near CR7 & neither rest of players . 

It's just simulation based analysis & if simulate the game with ronaldo you will see he score similar no of goals as compared to Jota or maybe slightly high.

[mcandrew003]

Nice to see a different opinion. Jota was very consistent, I agree, but I feel Talisca really stole the show for Benfica. Glad there is some discussion going on. 

Maybe, Jota was a catalyst in the Portugal side though and was maybe even used to replace CR7. Did you enjoy the article? Would you like to see this as a series?

Cheers for the comment @Nick11 

[Dec]

Nice work, really enjoyed that and it wasn't what I expected it to be when I clicked on it but that turned out to be positive.

 

The only suggestion I have is maybe make the verdict sound certain, I would like to hear you make a decision and sound sure on it and why you made that.

[Nick11]

17 minutes ago, mcandrew003 said:

Nice to see a different opinion. Jota was very consistent, I agree, but I feel Talisca really stole the show for Benfica. Glad there is some discussion going on. 

Maybe, Jota was a catalyst in the Portugal side though and was maybe even used to replace CR7. Did you enjoy the article? Would you like to see this as a series?

Cheers for the comment @Nick11 

If this was about messi i would have loved it even more #Messi ? 

Jota is natural heir of Ronaldo ... he Plays  in postion similar to CR ( LW /LS/CAM ).

This is really fantastic job & yeah would love to see few more about players who are now retiring or will in near future. Like Lahm , Xabi Alonso , Iniesta , Busi-quest, Messi...

[mcandrew003]

9 minutes ago, Dec said:

Nice work, really enjoyed that and it wasn't what I expected it to be when I clicked on it but that turned out to be positive.

 

The only suggestion I have is maybe make the verdict sound certain, I would like to hear you make a decision and sound sure on it and why you made that.

Thanks a lot Dec, that is great to hear! 

Have made a big change to the verdict after going over it again, hope it looks a bit better. Thanks for the comment mate 

[mcandrew003]

3 minutes ago, Nick11 said:

If this was about messi i would have love it even more #Messi ? 

Jota is natural heir of Ronaldo ... he Plays  in postion similar to CR ( LW /LS/CAM ).

This is really fantastic job & yeah love to see few more about players who are now retiring or will in near future. Like Lahm , Xabi Alonso , Iniesta , Busi-quest, Messi...

Messi is high on the list, don't you worry 

Another good point, Jota is positionally similar to CR7. This could mean he was placed in as a direct replacement to Ronaldo in the Portugal side maybe?

Thanks a lot, glad you enjoyed it as it was really fun to write. The list is going to consist of great players, I plan to do some of the ones you have mentioned, players like Buffon, Bonnuci, Boateng, Lewandowski etc....

[Nick11]

1 minute ago, mcandrew003 said:

Messi is high on the list, don't you worry 

Another good point, Jota is positionally similar to CR7. This could mean he was placed in as a direct replacement to Ronaldo in the Portugal side maybe?

Thanks a lot, glad you enjoyed it as it was really fun to write. The list is going to consist of great players, I plan to do some of the ones you have mentioned, players like Buffon, Bonnuci, Boateng, Lewandowski etc....

Ya enjoyed reading it .

I thinks Xabi Alonso Heir is going to be Carlos Soller (dont remember 2nd name) plays for Valencia . I've used him alot .

 

[mcandrew003]

3 minutes ago, Nick11 said:

Ya enjoyed reading it .

I thinks Xabi Alonso Heir is going to be Carlos Soller (dont remember 2nd name) plays for Valencia . I've used him alot .

 

Good to hear 

Carlos Soller? I'll have to have a look, sounds interesting. Will make sure to look out for him when I next do one of these. 

[Nick11]

He's young . But his PA in 3 of my save was 170+ . He develops nicely . In my save made record 614 appearences.

[Dec]

Much better! Just watch out for spelling mistakes and maybe instead of saying certain categories give an indication on what these are, that way it isn't making the reader wonder how you judged and gives full clarity. Good job.

[Nick11]

Now verdict looks quite clear .

[mcandrew003]

5 minutes ago, Dec said:

Much better! Just watch out for spelling mistakes and maybe instead of saying certain categories give an indication on what these are, that way it isn't making the reader wonder how you judged and gives full clarity. Good job.

Thanks! Will do, writing on an IPad can be tough with the spellings because the buttons are very close together, try to make sure I don't often have mistakes though. Ok, nice idea on the categories, will take that onboard. Thanks a lot Dec, your feedback has helped massively. Cheers!

[Ashez]

Very nice work mate, you really pulled this off IMO and it's pretty unique with your own style, I'm very impressed! 

[Brenty92]

Thoroughly enjoyable read bud, definitely interested in this as a series, there's so many opportunities where this concept is concerned too! I would love to know what you think about Stevie G's replacement (even though he's no longer at Liverpool already), I personally want Emre Can to be the man to step up as he is our best midfielder in my eyes, or possibly Grujic, well done on another fine article mate!

[Brenty92]

Also Diego Jota gets my vote due to his nationality and producing the goods on a bigger stage (La Liga)

[mcandrew003]

5 hours ago, Ashez said:

Very nice work mate, you really pulled this off IMO and it's pretty unique with your own style, I'm very impressed! 

Cheers Ashez, I really enjoyed writing this in my own type of style. Glad you liked it 

[BatiGoal]

Finally found the time to read this. A really good read and very enjoyable because of the concept. Good job!

There's only one little critique I have that not everyone may agree with which is the title; Next Ronaldo, Next Messi, Next etc.. it does have a nice ring to it but there is and will only be one of a kind so I would much rather see something like The Next Galactico, The Next Barca Brain.. or stepping away from club status and more into stats.. The Next 1000 Appearances, 150+ Capped Player, 500+ Goalscorer.. or by nationality.. The Next Portugal Legend, The Next Argentine God etc etc

I would try to find a way to categorize that's my only nitpick

[mcandrew003]

4 hours ago, BatiGoal said:

Finally found the time to read this. A really good read and very enjoyable because of the concept. Good job!

There's only one little critique I have that not everyone may agree with which is the title; Next Ronaldo, Next Messi, Next etc.. it does have a nice ring to it but there is and will only be one of a kind so I would much rather see something like The Next Galactico, The Next Barca Brain.. or stepping away from club status and more into stats.. The Next 1000 Appearances, 150+ Capped Player, 500+ Goalscorer.. or by nationality.. The Next Portugal Legend, The Next Argentine God etc etc

I would try to find a way to categorize that's my only nitpick

Thanks a lot BG, glad you enjoyed it 

This is actually really helpful feedback, as I plan to turn this into a mini-series every few weeks I think this could be useful. I like the idea if nationality, it's just that for all the 'categories' to fit in I needed to just have it based off a player, hence the title. I'm sure I'll find a way to make it work, thanks for the feedback. 

[Niall C]

Great article. I have to agree with @Nick11 Jota seems to be the prince to the throne. Given the similarity in Position and Nationality and he didn't fair to badly stats wise too .

 

Glad this is due to be  a mini series cant wait for more kiu.

[mcandrew003]

20 hours ago, Niall C said:

Great article. I have to agree with @Nick11 Jota seems to be the prince to the throne. Given the similarity in Position and Nationality and he didn't fair to badly stats wise too .

 

Glad this is due to be  a mini series cant wait for more kiu.

Read more  

Thanks a lot Niall! Great to see people are thinking different from me and getting their opinions across, Jota seems a popular choice 

Glad you are looking forward to it Niall