The nightmare of Ronaldo's successor

Mariano Diaz cannot fill the position left by Ronaldo.

Sharing with The Athletic , Mariano admitted: “7 is probably the most important number ever worn by a Real Madrid player, because it belonged to Raul, Cristiano (Ronaldo) and many other legends. Receiving this shirt number is a real honor, but also puts a lot of pressure. I don't have to replace Cristiano, but it is still an important role."

Mariano, 32, joined the Real Madrid academy from Badalona in 2011 and was promoted to the first team five years later by coach Zinedine Zidane. During his early years, he had the opportunity to train with Ronaldo and learn from the Portuguese superstar. This was also the time when Mariano developed his skills and mindset to compete at a high level.

In 2017, Mariano left Real to join Lyon, where he had a stellar season with 21 goals and 6 assists in 48 games. Just a year later, Real Madrid activated his £26m buy-back clause to bring him back to the Bernabeu.

Mariano failed to become a star.

However, in this return, Ronaldo left Real for Juventus, and Mariano had to shoulder the legendary number 7 shirt, which once belonged to Raul, Emilio Butragueno and Raymond Kopa, the symbols of the Spanish Royal team.

Under immense pressure and scrutiny from the media, Mariano failed to shine as expected. He mainly played a backup role for Karim Benzema, although he did have some shining moments. Typically, the important goal in the Champions League against AS Roma or the decisive goal in the "El Clasico" match, helping Real beat Barcelona 2-0 in 2020.

However, with a total of 12 goals in 84 games in two spells at the Bernabeu, Mariano eventually left the club in 2023 as a free agent.

Mariano’s journey at Real Madrid is a clear demonstration of the enormous pressure of wearing the number 7 shirt at the Bernabeu. Currently, the owner of this shirt number is Vinicius Junior. Despite his great contribution to a series of recent titles, the Brazilian striker is still not considered a new symbol at the Bernabeu.

The moment Ronaldo walked next to Mr. Trump The video of Cristiano Ronaldo smiling brightly while walking next to President Donald Trump at the White House went viral on social media, reaching nearly 20 million views after only 10 hours of posting.

Source: https://znews.vn/con-ac-mong-cua-nguoi-ke-thua-ronaldo-post1604299.html