No club team in the world is buzzing more right now than Juventus after acquiring Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar agreed to a four-year deal, closing the page on a 10-year chapter at Real Madrid. With Ronaldo's departure finalized, where does that leave Real Madrid? The Spanish club, arguably the most successful club in the history of the sport, is now without its proven superstar, the player who is synonymous with Los Blancos. Losing Ronaldo likely means, at the moment, the club won't have what it takes to win La Liga or the Champions League, especially when you wonder what it's going to do to make up for his 40-50 goals a season.
Here's what to expect for the club.
Making a splash
There often isn't a summer where Real Madrid doesn't make a monster splash in the transfer market. We've seen it over the years, and now it needs it more than ever. Without Ronaldo, it's not left with a whole lot in attack when it comes to a superstar. Karim Benzema hasn't been sharp in a while, Gareth Bale is often injured, so it needs to find a star in the attack to lead the team forward. But will it be a player with similar qualities to Ronaldo? It can't be, because there really isn't a player that fits his profile. What seems more likely is to sign a star winger and a star forward to compensate for his departure. But who? More on that below.
Use the transfer money wisely
Getting over $100 million for Ronaldo is obviously no chump change, but you would think the club would get more for a player whose buyout close was supposedly a billion bucks. There is no doubt Real Madrid has a war chest of money to use on transfers but it must use it wisely as the window of winning with aging defenders could be closing. One could argue that Juventus buying a 33-year-old for that much doesn't make a whole lot of sense for the future, but Real has the opportunity to find some young talents to lead this team into a new era, but it must be young and established players, not prospects.
Who to target?
Neymar, Neymar, Neymar. The Brazilian superstar could go to Real Madrid and do what he initially set out to do when he left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain: Step out of Messi's shadows and establish himself as the top player in the world. We've seen players play for both rivals in the past, so why not here? You'd have to figure Real would have to pay at least the same amount PSG paid Barcelona last summer -- over $250 million. He's arguably the third-best player in the world and soon-to-be the top player in the world, assuming Ronaldo and Messi decline in the coming years. That would solve the issue of creativity and goal scoring on the wing.
Next, logically, would be a striker. Now, there haven't been any concrete links, but you know it would be a top-tier pure striker. Guys that make sense are Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski, Tottenham's Harry Kane and Manchester United's Romelu Lukaku, all of which would command a transfer fee of over $100 million.
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