‘It’s important to take care of yourself’: ’91-year-old Azar is already a thing of the past, ’85-year-old Ronaldo wants to be around until 2027
Edouard Azar (32), once one of the best strikers in the world, has called it quits. In stark contrast, Cristiano Ronaldo (38, Al Nasr) is vowing to play until the age of 42.
“You have to listen to yourself, who tells you to stop at the right time,” Azar announced on social media on Tuesday, saying, “After 16 years and more than 700 matches, I have decided to end my career in professional soccer.” He added, “I’ve played in Lille and I’ve played in Al Nasr.
“I want to thank all the clubs I played for – Lille, Chelsea and Real Madrid – and I want to thank the Belgian Football Federation for calling me to the national team,” he said, adding, “A special thank you to my family, friends, advisors and those who have been close to me in good times and bad.”
Azar once reigned as one of the greatest players in the human race. Most notably, he was an ace at Chelsea, leading the Blues to league titles in 2014-2015 and 2016-2017, as well as Europa League trophies in 2012-2013 and 2018-2019.
In his seven years at Chelsea, from 2012 to 2019, Azar scored 110 goals and provided 92 assists in 352 career games. He was one of the best players in the club’s history. Azar moved to Real in the summer of 2019. Real paid a record transfer fee of €115 million ($164.3 billion) for him.
However, after joining Real, Azar became a bust. Injuries and inconsistency kept him on the sidelines for four seasons, with just 76 appearances and seven goals and 12 assists. Eventually, Azar decided to retire from the game, unable to continue his career. 스포츠토토
Most pundits and fans believe that Azar’s premature end to his career was due to poor positioning. He didn”t have ankle or knee problems, but his inability to control his weight caused his retirement to be premature.
In real life, Azar is known to have failed to control his diet during his time at Real Madrid. He was photographed training with a bulging belly and was criticized for his unprofessional diet, including enjoying burgers.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, is still in great shape and continues to play in Saudi Arabia. Ronaldo may be done with Europe, but he’s still a professional at Al Nasr.
On the same day that Azhar announced his retirement, Ronaldo asked for an extension. According to the UK’s Daily Mail, Ronaldo told Al Nasr’s hierarchy that he wanted to extend his contract until 2027.
Ronaldo will join the Portuguese national team for an October A match. Ronaldo had previously hinted at retirement after the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but he’s now committed to playing through the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America.
If Ronaldo gets his way and extends his contract through 2027, he’ll still be playing at age 42. “He would be fulfilling a promise he made to himself when he said he would play into his 40s.
Ronaldo’s demands may be out of line in Europe, but not in Saudi Arabia. Ronaldo has played almost every game full-time so far. What’s more, he leads the Saudi league in scoring with 10 goals this season. He’s also second with five assists.
After all, Ronaldo is known for his self-care, including his strict diet. If Ronaldo continues to play like this, he’ll likely qualify for his sixth consecutive World Cup. The importance of self-care cannot be overemphasized when you consider that Azhar, who is six years younger than Ronaldo, is already in the past tense and Ronaldo, who seems to be in the past, is still in the present tense.