Damning numbers prove Ronaldo's reputation from long range has hit rock bottom

 

Rewind back over ten years and Cristiano Ronaldo's reputation was rocketing as fast as his shots. The Portugal star, particularly at Manchester United, was renowned for scoring some truly astonishing strikes from outside the box.

Be it from open play - see Porto in the Champions League - or free-kicks against the likes of Arsenal, Portsmouth and former club Sporting, the then Red was devilish from distance. While it's true that the 35-year-old has always been willing to chance his arm from range at any given opportunity, some of his strikes were genuinely remarkable.

His 'knuckle shot' technique proved too hot to handle for a time, but certainly over the past five years or so, goalkeepers and indeed the resilience of opposition goal nets have been tested considerably less often.

Indeed, over the past three seasons, Ronaldo's numbers in terms of converting shots from distance are shocking in every sense of the word.

While his game has undoubtedly and understandably changed over the years, becoming more of a penalty box finisher since entering his thirties in particular, Ronaldo is still more than willing to fire off shots from way out.

While a ranking of seventh across Europe's top five leagues in terms of shots from outside the box sounds modest for a player like Ronaldo, his total of 43 attempts is still significant. He has, after all, had more shots from beyond the 18-yard box without having scored from said efforts in those major leagues this season.

That's an embarrassing title to hold for a player of Ronaldo's reputation, but while his finishing from inside the box has improved at Juventus, the figures are even more unforgiving looking back two years more.

His last and indeed only league goal from outside the box over the past three seasons - including his final campaign in Madrid - came against Empoli in October 2018. He's made 43 Serie A appearances since and mustered 105 shots from distance in that time without finding the net.

To find his last league goal from a free-kick you have to venture back further still to the Madrid derby in November 2016. All in all Ronaldo has made exactly 100 league appearances across action in Spain and Italy since last finding the net from a free-kick, having had 49 attempts from such situations in that time.

 

 

Some comparisons to Lionel Messi are just lazy and unnecessary, but there's no escaping the fact that the Barcelona man has been lethal from distance over and beyond the same period. The Argentine has at least three more goals from outside the box than any other player in Europe's top five leagues, with eight from 51 attempts.

Moreover, he's scored 14 league goals from range since Ronaldo last found the net from an attempt outside the box and scored a whopping 18 direct free-kicks in LaLiga since the Portuguese netted direct from a set piece in the league.

Damning numbers prove Ronaldo's reputation from long range has hit rock bottom