Take these reports with a pinch of salt, or in fact a large dose of it.
But regardless of its plausibility, it’s hard not to get excited about the potential for Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo heading to Miami in 2017 and signing for David Beckham’s Major League Soccer franchise.
Just think about it… A match made in heaven?
According to various reports across Europe, plans for Beckham to bring in Ronaldo as Miami’s first player have been revealed, as the Portuguese superstar and reigning FIFA Ballon d’Or winner would come to MLS on a massive Designated Player contract when Miami arrive. With Becks and his business partners desperate to make Miami a success, it seems like bringing in Ronaldo would instantly give the team worldwide recognition. Plus, it would add to Miami’s list of sporting superstars, as Ronaldo would rub shoulders with LeBron and co. to help MLS burst onto the scene in South Florida and beyond.
(MORE: Ronaldo wins 2013 Ballon d’Or, crowned world’s best player)
Like I suggested, plenty of these rumors will crop up between now and 2017 when Miami are expected to enter MLS, but let’s look at the facts.
Right now 29-year-old Ronaldo has a contract that runs until 2018 with Real and by the time Miami are about to enter MLS, he will be in his early 30’s. That’s the exact same time Beckham left Real Madrid to join MLS and the Galaxy, as the duo’s career paths have taken extremely similar paths. Like Beckham, Ronaldo turned up at Old Trafford as a teenager and under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson, they both won every domestic and European honor on offer while playing for United. Becks then switched Manchester for Madrid, which is also what Ronaldo has done and both had flourished (Ronaldo arguably more so) in the Spanish capital for Real.
(MORE: Ronaldo helps out young fan in Miami, after he ran on the pitch to hug Madrid superstar)
Now, it seems, Ronaldo could be heading Stateside with Beckham harboring ambitions to make the Portuguese national team captain, and one of the greatest players Europe has ever produced, MLS’ next big star.
Ronaldo has visited the States on preseason tours for many years with United and Real, and is said to love having vacations in the USA. Also, if you remember last year when a game was in Miami, a young fan ran onto the pitch and Ronaldo embraced him with a warm hug to diffuse any unrest and showed his love for the people coming to watch him play in the Floridian city.
All of this adds up to a “maybe” judgement, as Ronaldo heading to MLS is obviously a few years away as he still aims to break records and win more titles as FIFA’s best player in the world while playing for Real.
However, when you start to think about it, Beckham bringing Ronaldo to MLS in three years time isn’t as far-fetched as it would have once seemed.
