I fear for the man who inherits the number 7 shirt at Real Madrid. The tag of “Ronaldo's replacement” he would immediately get as soon as he puts that number 7 below his name would put a lot of burden of expectations upon him. For starters the club ain't getting a replacement for Ronaldo ever. The player who would be signed or promoted to the starting lineup would just be taking his spot into the eleven and not replacing him in terms of capability. Players like Ronaldo exists once or twice in decades and it's foolishness to even think that someone would be capable of matching his caliber and numbers.
For example look at Barcelona who have spent near €300 million in finding that replacement for Xavi in three years only and have not found one to replicate his work yet. Or Manchester United who are still looking to find an elegant player who would not choke in that legendary number 7 shirt for 9 years now.
The number 7 in Real Madrid went from a great player Raul to an extraterrestrial one Cristiano Ronaldo who set the bars too high, now it would be worn by some great player once again but the expectations would be of matching Ronaldo's caliber which would put useless pressure and hype upon him. In case he doesn't match expectations they would call him a failed signing. The boos from Bernabeu crowd would become frequent if he doesn't score like crazy as Ronaldo used to.
So what is the point in labelling him Ronaldo's replacement? It's better to let him carve his own legacy be it in number 7 or any other jersey. In case we don't, we would be disappointing ourselves and splashing money for a useless reason just like Barcelona, Manchester United or any other club who is doing the same to replace a former great.
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