Real question: Does Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Saudi Arabia put him in semi-retirement?
His unveiling as an Al-Nassr player this week and his statement that his work in Europe was done certainly suggests that it’s all over for football’s greatest goalscorer.
With 819 strikes in 1 144 matches, that number puts him ahead of any man who has ever kicked a ball professionally.
And no doubt he will add to that incredible tally in the Middle East.
"This is why I'm here" ️🎙️
Relive @Cristiano's incredible hero's welcome to Mrsool Park and watch his first exclusive interview as an Al Nassr player ⭐#HalaRonaldo 💛 pic.twitter.com/YdxFEP0bNB
While the Portuguese stands to make a king’s ransom in the Gulf, with a two-year playing contract and another five years of ambassadorial work set to earn him over a billion dollars, there is the sense that this is it for him.
And turning 38 next month, that would be a fitting end to a truly amazing career.
But two months ago no one would have imagined that that would be the case.
In fact, let’s be real, the man’s career took a nose dive like… well, like the great man in the penalty area.
The last two months have been an absolute nightmare.
Let’s go back to the end of last season after he and former club Manchester United failed to qualify for the Champions League.
The nagging question was just how happy Ronaldo would be at Old Trafford after missing out on the tournament he made his own - five titles and record goalscorer.
Having found himself in the bad books with new Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag after walking out on the team during a match for the second time in the season, questions about his future went into overdrive after becoming a bit-part player.
Reports around Europe claimed that he was offered to every single club still in the tournament, with him looking to add to his 140 goals.
Toe bars die bom. Ronaldo went all-out on attack on United in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan.
It was stunning. With Ronaldo going to say that the club had betrayed him and that he had no respect for Ten Hag.
But apart from ending his United career, many things he said in the sit-down came back to bite him.
Morgan set him up with the scenario of beating Lionel Messi in the World Cup final with a hattrick, Ronaldo went out with Portugal in the quarterfinals with him never having scored in a knockout game across five tournaments.
And this after his Portugal coach Fernando Santos has also dropped him.
He’d have to watch Messi lift the greatest prize in the game from home.
Ronaldo also told Morgan that he was planning to go out at the highest level, playing Champions League.
And of course there is a clip doing the rounds now of Ronaldo telling Morgan that Saudi Arabia was not an option for him.
But here are. And daar sit Ronaldo saying “South Africa” instead of Saudi Arabia at his unveiling.
I don’t know about you, but it’s kind of sad.
I know he has many defenders and for many he remains that GOAT, but I feel he is a man so caught up in his own legend.
His final days at United and with Portugal at the World Cup could have gone so very differently if he just accepted that, at 38, his star was waning.
Not every player goes out in a blaze of glory at the World Cup, like the late Pele or Messi - just look at Zinedine Zidane being sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the 2006 final. There is no shame in playing out your career in the MLS, Qatar, Japan or even Saudi Arabia.
But after all that he has done in the last two months, it all just feels like a humble pie for Ronaldo.
At least it’s a billion dollars worth of humble pie.
Haters though shouldn’t write him off just yet.
The next World Cup is just three years away and if he can dent his legacy in two months, that’s more than enough time for him to come reg and get another shot at glory.
matthew.marcus@inl.co.za