Irrespective of personal bias, Cristiano Ronaldo – from a statistical point of view – is one of the greatest goalscorers in football history, and he once revealed there are players from one club that he would never swap his shirt with at the end of a match.
Albeit now 40 years of age, the Portuguese line-leader – who, despite his tender age, is widely regarded as one of the best strikers in world football – is eyeing the 1,000-goal mark before he inevitably calls it quits and hangs up his boots.
Ranking the greatest players in Real Madrid history featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos Related
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Los Blancos have had some incredible stars in their history including Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Zinedine Zidane and Alfredo Di Stefano.
When players come up against such greatness, the natural reaction is to ask for his shirt. Especially for the young up-and-comers, whose dreams are coming true when they face Ronaldo, asking for the seasoned forward’s jersey has become commonplace.
The One Team Ronaldo Wouldn’t Swap Shirts With
Surprisingly, it’s not Liverpool or Barcelona
One would instantly assume that it would be Liverpool or Barcelona (his two main rivals throughout his career) – but as a footballing icon of the highest calibre, there was no shortage of teams that gave him stick for terrorising their defenders.
Back in 2007, while he was plying his trade in England for Manchester United, Ronaldo was emerging as one of the beautiful game’s leading world-beaters – and he was laying claim on being one of the Champions League’s most impressive assets.
At Europe’s top table, the Ronaldo-inspired Red Devils often played AS Roma – and a meeting between the two European giants in 2007 started his ever-growing dislike of the side who have regularly plied their trade in Italy’s top flight.
18 years ago, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men went into the second leg – which was poised beautifully in front of a roaring Old Trafford crowd – with a one-goal deficit to overturn. They did just that with a memorable 7-1 victory over the Italians. Watch the highlights below:
Ronaldo scored twice for the right-hand side of the midfield four and, at times, was unplayable. Speaking to the Daily Express in 2018, he relived that affair and explained why he would never swap shirts with a player from the Rome-based outfit.
“When it was 6-0, they asked me to stop. An opponent begged me to stop dribbling. Others threatened to hurt me. Roma? There is no player with whom I would exchange a shirt.”
After an illustrious stint as the go-to guy at Real Madrid, Ronaldo opted for a new challenge in Italy: with none other than Juventus and meetings with I Giallorossi happened on a more regular basis by virtue of the two playing in the same division.
Although his career is not yet done, Madeira-born Ronaldo has faced AS Roma on a number of occasions – 12, to be exact. In that time, he’s plundered 10 goal involvements (nine goals and the solitary assist). In that time, he has lost just twice against them.