Depending on how you count it, Cristiano Ronaldo is very close to flattering his own ego, or still a long way away. Reports are currently circulating that he is still 15 goals short of breaking his personal 1,000-goal mark.
The specialist portal “transfermarkt.de”, however, shows in its statistics that the 41-year-old superstar has so far scored 997 goals in all notable games for his clubs and Portugal’s national teams.
In any case, this is the best way to explain why Ronaldo is now suddenly adding another goal celebration to the goal celebration he has staged for many years on the football stage. Instead of “Siuuu” now also an “M”. Sculpted with a dislocation of the fingers of the right hand, leaving only the thumb not exposed.
When someone like Ronaldo changes something without prior notice, the guesswork begins. What does the artist want to tell us?
It was easy with his world-famous “Siuuu” goal celebration. I, Ronaldo – yessss, was supposed to symbolize that. He premiered it in August 2013 during the pre-season preparation for his former club Real Madrid. Ronaldo later explained in interviews that the celebration was not planned at all. It was created completely instinctively and from the pure emotion of the moment.
The shouted “Siuuu” is derived from the Spanish word “sí”, i.e. “ja”. Since the fans in the stadium often shouted “Siiii” when goals were scored, this gave rise to the characteristic call.
At the premiere around 13 years ago, the process was a little different than when he celebrated it afterwards. He only perfected the typical 180-degree turn in the air and the powerful, rigid tearing down of his arms in the following years, until cheering became his absolute trademark, copied worldwide, especially during his time at Juventus Turin.
The replacement by the “M” is now seen as an allusion to the 1000, analogous to the Roman numeral. Ronaldo has not confirmed this yet. In terms of good marketing, a mystery is always a good vehicle - and no one knows how to use it better than Ronaldo.
After all, it is documented that the 1000 goals – of course – have a great appeal for him. In an interview in September, he said the brand "would be the culmination of an incredible story. I said I wanted to achieve this goal, and I will. But I'm not obsessed. If you're too obsessed with something, you can't achieve it. Enjoy the journey. Enjoy today."
In any case, it has been clear since Wednesday that his mission cannot be completed by scoring goals for the national team. He ended the chapter with an emotional video. A good month after the scandal surrounding his departure from the national team camp, he announced his final departure.
“To the people of Portugal: The day has come for me to return the number 7 jersey of our national team,” says Ronaldo, accompanied by music and images of his long career. “For 23 years I had the privilege and responsibility to carry it, defend it and bring it to stadiums around the world.” He scored 146 goals in 234 international matches for Portugal.
"There are footballers who define an era and others who change the history of a national team forever. Cristiano Ronaldo belongs to the latter category. When he made his debut for Portugal in 2003, the Portuguese team was still looking for its first major title. More than two decades later, he leaves behind an unparalleled legacy," commented Spanish sports newspaper Marca.
