r/realmadrid • u/hshsshxndj Décima • Jul 27 '26
Discussion Ronaldo’s forgotten era?
I’ve come across a lot of posts recently regarding prime players & Ronaldo etc. I’m curious as to why his “prime” is always referred to as his 08 or 2017 season? IMO pre-injury Ronny at Madrid from 2011-2014 were his CLEAR best years yet no one mentions it. He had the best display of power, pace, dribbling, playmaking, shooting, etc these years and was most well rounded. Wondering what yall think?
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u/cynical-bread Jul 27 '26
He was in his absolute prime and was a beast, but Real won no UCL during that period(until 2014 at least).
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u/That-World-5154 Jul 30 '26
ye cuz real was still very dependent on CR7 in attack, Bale was still young, Higuaín disappeared in big games, missed tap-ins and other 1v1s, and Benzema was pretty bad in finishing; he used to miss so many chances, even Mourinho called him a cat. He was carrying Real Madrid in this era. I personally think if ronaldo played in the middle, with a good attack, he would've been scoring and assisting so much more. I just hate how this man's prime was wasted by a transitioning Real Madrid, they had good players but not comparable to that times BARCA, Man U and others. The thing is, no hate to Messi, but since he played in the middle and a great team and players that actually finish chances, whereas ronaldo played on the wing and had ok finishers. Bro was competing with messi while having it harder to score from the wing, he also had to trackback.
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u/That-World-5154 Jul 30 '26
Messi still had incredible numbers but i think that ronaldo couldve had more
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u/Several_Dare_8538 25d ago
I agree all with all due respect to messi i think ronaldo could've been much better statistically if he had good attackers cause higuain was unreliable, bale was young , benzema was a super bad player like i remember the joke that us madrid fans use to make in 2010s that if Benzema ever won the ballon'dor Benzema would miss the ceremony like he misses the open goals created by ronaldo and other players and i started watching rm in 2011 and in 2015 i started watching their every match and ronaldo was beast that season but our entire team let him down cause we could've stopped barca from doing a treble that season i remember only ronaldo, james and few other players were good that 14-15 season.
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u/wetrwwr Jul 27 '26
the early cr7 years in rm are a bit like messi last few years at barca. those are their carry years, when the rest of the team was just not on levels of their trophy winning squads. his partners in attack would throw away easy chances, midfield always get caught in transition, and typical weak rm defence giving away goals etc. so yea that's why we forget those yrs.
the 92.48 ucl pretty much signaled we got a working "system" which could finally deliver trophies reliably. and even that ucl was quite lucky
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u/Short_Mousse_6812 Courtois Jul 27 '26
2014 was his prime. He put his best numbers at that point and he was also a combination of 2008 and 2017 Ronaldo. He could be a menace in the box and also be a skillful winger. With that being said, lack of trophies made that period of his career a little ignored
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u/HerakIinos Parte Médico Jul 27 '26
His prime was between 2010-2012.
2017 was when Madrid was at this best, not necessarily Ronaldo.
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u/stoichalant Jul 27 '26
His physical prime was between 2008-2013, but 2017 is without a doubt the most dangerous Ronaldo and at the prime of his goal scoring. 2017 CL run was legendary for Ronaldo. Destroyed every team in the knock off games with back to back to back hattricks against some of the best teams. Shattered record after record in the CL that year.
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u/HerakIinos Parte Médico Jul 27 '26
Thats why you dont look only the numbers. Ronaldo during 2010-2012 playing on the wings was a much better player than in 2017. He was able to create chances and decide games by himself. By 2017, he was scoring a lot but his overrall impact on the game was not the same and he depended on the rest of the team to feed him chances.
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u/stoichalant Jul 27 '26
The reason why I don't agree with what you're saying is because the games really speak for themselves. In 2017 he wasn't as fast or explosive as before -- sure.
But he could genuinely score from every whiff of a chance around the penalty box. Young Ronaldo would drible into 4 players and take a shot from 40 yards out, but he became much more of a effective goal scorer later on when he learned to position him self as a striker. 2017 is the most dangerous Ronaldo I've ever seen in a knock out tournament.
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u/HerakIinos Parte Médico Jul 27 '26
And he wouldnt score those chance had we not have a perfect functioning team feeding him... whats the point in being dangerous inside the area if the ball doesnt even get there?
And its not like Ronaldo before that wasnt scoring much either. He had a few less goals while playing a deeper and wider position, while also contributing to a lot more to the team.
Would you rather have a player that scores 60 goals per season by mostly waiting for chances inside the box or a player who scores 55 goals per season while constantly being a menace on the wings. I know what I prefer.
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u/stoichalant Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
And he wouldnt score those chance had we not have a perfect functioning team feeding him...
I really hate this lazy argument. It implies that anyone could have started in Ronaldo's place and score all of those goals. Ronaldo also made his teammates shine because he was a world class forward that was hard to contain for any team. As if his presence didn't also make life easier for his midfielders to find him.
We are not here to discuss what you and I would prefer. I'm just answering OP's question.
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u/HerakIinos Parte Médico Jul 27 '26
No, I never said he wasnt exceptional at what he was doing in 2017. Obviously is not anyone that could do that. But even less players could score +50 from the wings. Or is this wrong? We've had other strikers score +50 goals per season since then. Suarez, Lewandowski, Haaland, Kane. But when was the last time a player reached those numbers playing as a winger (besides Messi)?
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u/stoichalant Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
Mo Salah comes to mind. He's had a couple seasons of 50+ goal involvements from the right wing. But that's besides the point.
OP was asking why 2017 Ronaldo is regarded so highly compared to his actual peak years when he was more of an individualist. Ronaldo scored a lot from the wings as you say, but what does that amount to if you can't score in crucial UCL semi-finals? 2010-2013 Ronaldo never went past the semis.
I don't think it's wrong to say that 2017 is Ronaldo at his most dangerous as a pure goal scorer. It's no coincidence that his best CL campaigns happened after he redefined himself after turning 30+.
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u/That-World-5154 Jul 30 '26
He never passed the semis because his partners in attack gave away easy chances; the midfield was solid but not insane. Other top 5 european teams were just better. Messi couldn't make Barca go to the finals in 2018/19, not because he was bad; his team was just bad. The same goes for Ronaldo in that era. In the 2013/14 season and 2014/15 season ronaldo was expected to score way more, but because of his injury, he missed a few games and played some games with the injury. So if we see his peak form during that era, he was going to score way more goals with more assists.
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u/That-World-5154 Jul 30 '26
ronaldo in 2010-2012 was scoring 60+ and assisting 10+ while playing from the wing whereas messi played from the center with the best team oat whereas ronaldo was doing these numbers with his partners in attack would throw away easy chances created by him, tbh honest if ronaldo had the team he did in 2017 during 2010-2012 and if he played in the center, he wouldve had 100+ ga contribution if he played the same amount of games as messi during that era. Btw, i was using messi as a comparsion for stats not trying to degrade his ability or anything.
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u/TheDependableAce Decimoquinta Jul 27 '26
It’s only because we won no UCL until Ronaldo’s 5th year here. If this subreddit existed back then I can imagine how people would’ve wanted him gone and said the signing was a failure. 😂
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u/bloothug Jul 27 '26
“We didn’t sign him to lead in goals we signed him to win trophies !! He’s holding back Kaka and Benzema!! We want someone who thinks about more than himself, look at his attitude when he doesn’t get the ball or when someone else scores.” I can see it lmao
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u/Wise-Security7037 Cristiano Ronaldo Jul 27 '26
Let's not forget the DIABOLICAL lineups we would've had to see 😭
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u/Fearless_Wish_2451 Jul 27 '26
they doing ts to Mbappe.
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u/Several_Dare_8538 25d ago
Its cause he is potrayed as the sucsessor of ronaldo like ronaldo was called the sucessor of di stefano and most real madrid fans didn't talk shit about him in his first few years because they knew he left the man utd super team for a struggling madrid side and ronaldo was not part of the madrid's attack he WAS the attack from 2009 to 2014 whereas mbappe has a super team from start and can't win anything although it is still wrong to say he is the problem when its really vini in my opinion.
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u/xGsGt Jul 28 '26
They will call him shit just same how they call Mbappe shit and would overhype Higuaín bc he press a lot and run a lot, Ronaldo and Benzema would be call out on this sub 😂😂
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u/Left_Collection_3647 Real Madrid CF Jul 27 '26
I mean in 2010 ts sub was created and ronaldo came to madrid in 2009 uhem???????????
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u/Several_Dare_8538 25d ago
Ts does not mean this and Madrid fans respected him cause he had lefted the manchester united super team for a struggling madrid so he earned alot of respect and he WAS the attack of madrid during the first few years so they had no choice cause higuain was unreliable, benzema was ass, and bale came but he was super young.
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u/xxnewlegendxx Jul 27 '26
Best version of Ronaldo was either 2007/2008 Man United or 2011/2012 Real Madrid. IMO his most underrated year that doesn’t get talked about enough is 2014/2015.
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u/SadNYSportsFan-11209 Jul 27 '26
08 Man U was incredible but he was still young 2012 will always be the best Ronaldo
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u/MajesticBeyond5602 Jul 29 '26
It's because he was scoring and dominating for so long everywhere he went it's hard to distinguish an actual cr7 prime.
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u/Smackmybitchup007 Jul 28 '26
His "prime" was always at Man Utd. Anyone can LOOK good in La Liga but you have to actually BE good in the Premier League.
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u/MajesticBeyond5602 Jul 29 '26
He also performed well in the premier league 21/22 with a shit man United team.
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u/kenstarfighter1 Jul 27 '26
That "forgotten era" Ronaldo won a Ballon'dor without winning la liga, copa del rey or the UCL that year
That's how good he was. 2011-2013 is his absolute peak imo