One of the best players to ever grace the game is always a talking point in the footballing world. Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed person on Instagram with over 594 million followers. The Portuguese superstar has been in the limelight after this ground-breaking move to a Saudi club Al-Nassr. After completing the lucrative move, Ronaldo has set the Saudi Pro League on fire by scoring 14 goals in 18 matches.
Since his historic move to Manchester United in the year 2003, Cristiano Ronaldo has always been the focal point for many brands including big names like Nike and Tag Heuer. Fans have gone bizarre after an old video started surfacing on social media of the Portuguese captain racing with a supercar.
Cristiano Ronaldo once raced a Bugatti
In 2008-2009, CR7 hit the heights which many players could only dream of. The then Manchester United winger helped his team win the Champions League in the year 2008 and won his first Ballon d’Or of his career. He also won the FIFA Puskas Award for his outrageous long-range strike against FC Porto. Following this, Many brands started approaching the United superstar courtesy of his heroics on the field.
Never forget when Cristiano Ronaldo raced a Bugatti and won đ
(via Nike) pic.twitter.com/aED3CWrub1
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 28, 2023
The Portuguese winger accepted to do a brand shoot to promote Nike Mercurial shoes only for it to be remembered after the best part of a decade. One of the major attributes of Ronaldo’s game then was his electrifying pace and Nike decided to create an advertisement around that. They set up a never-seen-before race, where the Ballon d’Or winner was against the then-fastest car in the world, Bugatti Veyron.
Cristiano Ronaldo took the lead in the early parts of a 100-meter race only to be overtaken by the supercar. For the last 50 meters, the car had to brake and go back reversing which helped Ronaldo’s cause. The Portuguese ended up winning the race in a proper photo-finish ending.
Ronaldo recorded a top speed of 20.9 mph
The mercurial winger has always been known for his electrifying pace and his runs down the wing. Sir Alex Ferguson, then Manchester United manager was in awe when he saw an 18-year-old teenager drift past defender like they were not there in a friendly game against Sporting Lisbon. The Scottish manager immediately had his sights on Ronaldo and bought him to Manchester just a few days after the game.
Over the years, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has significantly made changes to his game. From being a dazzling winger in his Manchester United days to being a poacher-type striker in his late Real Madrid and Juventus days, Cristiano Ronaldo has done it all. The Portuguese recorded a top speed of 20.9 mph whereas his counterpart Lionel Messi recorded a top speed of 20.2 mph. Talking about Ronaldo’s pace, his Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said “He was faster with the ball than most people were without it. When Ronaldo had the ball, he ran at 2,000 miles per hour.”
The sporting phenomenon has always been the talking point on social media due to his heroics on the field as well as his personal life. There is no surprise to hear that he is the only person with more than 500 million followers on Instagram. Although the 38-year-old, has lost a tad bit of pace from his early days there is no denying the fact that he is one of the greatest players to ever grace the game of football.
