Real Madrid Misses Cristiano Ronaldo’s Weapon

The Spanish newspaper “Marca” revealed one of the most significant technical impacts of the Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018, which is the absence of a specialist player in executing direct free kicks since his departure until today.

According to the report, the team’s scoring rate from free kicks has seen a notable decline, dropping from an average of 6.1 goals per season during Cristiano’s tenure to just 1.6 goals after his departure. This reflects the significant gap left by the Portuguese star in this area and the lack of compensation for his absence.

Marca highlighted the statistics of the players who have scored the most free-kicks for Real Madrid since 2009, which confirm Cristiano Ronaldo’s absolute dominance in this record with 33 goals, followed by Gareth Bale with 4 goals, Mesut Özil with 3 goals, and James Rodríguez with 3 goals.

This decline reopens the discussion within Madrid circles about the need for a player with precision and strength in executing set pieces, given the current team’s reliance on collective solutions that have not yet compensated for Cristiano’s impact in this decisive weapon.

It is noted that Kylian Mbappé succeeded in scoring two goals from free kicks while wearing the Real Madrid jersey, the same tally achieved by Federico Valverde, David Alaba, and Rodrygo, while Dani Ceballos managed to score only one goal from set pieces.