Cristiano Ronaldo is making headlines for teasing a big decision that could forever change the trajectory of his football future.
Though the 36-year-old did receive the Golden Boot at Euro 2020, it was believed to be an underwhelming campaign for a Portugal side tipped to go all the way. Ronaldo scored five times in four matches for Fernando Santos’ side, but he was unable to score in the last-16 as they crashed out to Belgium.
He is doing everything possible to add another international trophy to his already-long list of accomplishments, especially since it gave him the edge over his adversary Lionel Messi prior to this summer.
Following Portugal’s success at Euro 2016, it was Ronaldo 1-0 Messi when it came to international honors. While Messi had come incredibly close on multiple occasions, unlike his club career, his time with Argentina had been filled with near-misses and some crushing disappointments.
That changed this summer, however, with Messi finally getting a win as Argentina beat Brazil in the Copa America final in Rio.
Not only that, the Barcelona star’s celebration also broke records, with his Instagram picture acknowledging the win becoming the most liked post made by any athlete in the history of Instagram.
Messi’s post received a whopping 20.7 million likes, surpassing the previous record, which was held by Ronaldo’s touching tribute to the late Diego Maradona.
Now, possibly in an effort to take back the social media throne, Cristiano Ronaldo has dropped his own viral post, captioning a picture of himself with a couple cryptic words: “decision day.”
While it still isn’t exactly obvious what decision this caption refers to, many fans think it alludes to his future at Juventus. The Italian football club is looking to trim the wage bill in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, which brings his €60m-per-year deal into focus.
Many believe Ronaldo has been eyeing an emotional return to Manchester United, while Paris Saint-Germain have also been named as a potential suitor. According to reports from Marca, he is set to return to Juventus training on July 25, with contract talks currently ongoing.
There is a possibility that Ronaldo could follow Messi’s lead after the latter took a significant wage reduction in order to stay at the Nou Camp. His current deal expires at the end of the season, but an extension could allow his club to spread out payments to ease pressure on finances in the short-term.
Now, we’ll just have to wait and see.
