Football – the game of uncertainties, blessed its lovers once again yesterday when Cristiano Ronaldo netted the 49th hat-trick of his club career against Tottenham Hotspurs yesterday at Old Trafford. Alongside that, the Portuguese maestro broke the record for the most goals in competitive football matches in the history of the game with 806 goals in total. He has now also scored at least one hat-trick in each of his last 13 seasons as a club footballer.
Cristiano Ronaldo breaks Josef Bican's record for the most goals in competitive matches in football history 🐐 pic.twitter.com/E8NWuSR5eZ
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 12, 2022
Advertisement
What particularly shocked the world was him scoring this hat-trick at the age of 37 – making him the second oldest hat-trick scorer in the history of this league only after Teddy Sheringham.
Apart from reaching another milestone, it was more of a message from him towards his doubters and the media platforms that wrote him and Manchester United off. So, the timing of this hat-trick was crucial for both him and the club.
A turnaround in the fate of Cristiano Ronaldo and United?
Manchester United has no hopes of fighting for the title and is already out of the FA Cup. So, the only two options they have right now are – to push for the top 4 spot and give their all in the UEFA Champions League. But their last few performances and results made a lot of their fans frustrated and one of the sources of this frustration was also Ronaldo’s inconsistency. All these fueled the rumours of Ronaldo potentially leaving the club at the end of the season.
So, the last night’s performance was a slap on the face of the people who questioned his commitment towards the club and the badge. The fixtures are not very kind towards the Red Devils at the moment. They have to win their next game against Atletico Madrid to proceed further in the UCL this season. Also, their chances of finishing in the top 4 are very thin, so every league game from here on out is sort of a must-win for them.
Amidst all this chaos, a hat-trick from the number 7 was a ray of hope for all the Old Trafford faithfuls. Predicting the future of this team is impossible as United has suffered time and again this season and the off-field noise has always made it worse for them. With all of these revolving around the club constantly, the fans can only look up to one man and one man only – Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro – the man who does not know how to back down.
