'Goals machine' Ronaldo will stay competitive until retirement, says Zambrotta

Cristiano Ronaldo is a 'scoring machine' who will remain competitive until the day he retires, former Italy and Juventus defender Gianluca Zambrotta told Stats Perform.

Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo has reportedly asked to leave Manchester United if an offer is made after just one season at Old Trafford.

The Portugal international has yet to return to training with United and is not part of their tour of Thailand and Australia, which has been attributed to family reasons.

Ronaldo scored a team-leading 24 goals in all competitions last season, but his comeback didn't go to plan as United recorded their lowest points tally in the Premier League.

>

United endured a fifth straight season without silverware and finished sixth, meaning there was no Champions League football in the 2022-23 campaign.

This is said to be the reason Ronaldo is looking for a new challenge, and Zambrotta has backed the 37-year-old to keep shooting wherever he plys his trade.

“Ronaldo is a player who is making a difference right now. We have seen that. The numbers say it,” Zambrotta said.

"Which team can suit him? I don't know. Definitely a team that fights for the Champions League, a team that fights for many goals.

"Because I'm sure he still wants to be competitive, until he retires. And I still think Ronaldo is a goal machine whatever team he plays for."

Ronaldo is the Champions League's all-time top scorer with 140 goals and won the competition four times with Real Madrid and once with United in his previous spell.

He scored six goals in last season's competition but couldn't help United further than the round of 16, where they were knocked out in two matches by Atletico Madrid.

>

However, while United endured a dreadful campaign under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and then Ralf Rangnick, Zambrotta doesn't think Ronaldo is to blame.

"Let's just say he needs teammates too," said Zambrotta, who represented Juve, Barcelona and Milan while helping Italy win the World Cup in 2006.

"Even when Ronaldo was criticized at Juve, and they couldn't advance to the Champions League, he still made the difference from a numerical point of view.

"The data, the numbers say it. You can't think of going against the numbers. And then you might like it, or you might not like it, it's a different guy of speeches.

"But he was always a player who always made the difference from this point of view."

Ronaldo isn't the only big forward potentially on the move this window, with Robert Lewandowski also keen to leave Bayern Munich.

Lewandowski scored 50 goals in 46 games in all competitions last season in his second-best goalscoring campaign in eight years with Bayern, behind 55 in 2019-20.

The prolific striker has less than 12 months to fulfill his contract and has made no secret of his desire to leave, with Barcelona confirming this week that a bid has been made.

It could lead to a bitter split between Bayern and Lewandowski but, as with Ronaldo, Zambrotta can understand why the player wants out.

"I've always been used to not judging anyone because I don't know the personal histories and current events of each case," he said.

"Everyone can find themselves at a certain point in their life or career where they have to change because they need new motivations, new stimuli.

"He needs a change of scenery, to see new faces, to stay in a different stadium, to meet new friends.

"Maybe at that time maybe it was the right one for a player, so it doesn't affect me and most likely [Lewandowski] wants a change of scenery. That's all ."