Since Cristiano Ronaldo departed in the summer of 2018, it’s been an interesting few years for Real Madrid.
Having just completed a historic Champions League three-peat, which no other team has done in the modern era, curtains were called upon Ronaldo’s nine-year spell at Real Madrid, where he surpassed Raul as their all-time top scorer and established himself as one of the greatest players of all time.
Ronaldo won two league titles during his three years at Juventus, but they suffered a sharp and sudden decline during his last year in Turin, whilst Manchester United have been a disaster since his return to Old Trafford last summer.
Los Blancos suffered a rocky transition period in the immediate aftermath of his departure, with a shock Round of 16 Champions League exit to Ajax in 2018-19, but they’ve won two league titles in the last three years and once again reclaimed Europe’s most prestigious cup in 2022.
Karim Benzema has stepped up and superbly filled the void vacated by Ronaldo. But what about the new signings who have attempted to step into Ronaldo’s shoes? Here’s who they signed to replace him since he left the Santiago Bernabeu.
Mariano Diaz
The striker, who came up through Real Madrid’s C and B teams, left the club for Lyon in 2017. After scoring 18 Ligue 1 goals, Real brought him back to the Spanish capital for around £20million, and even gave him Ronaldo’s iconic No.7 shirt.
Mariano has spent most of his time on the bench since his return and gave up the No.7 shirt when Eden Hazard arrived a year after him, but he remains at the club.
A bizarre deal all around, you’d imagine Madrid will be more than happy to wave goodbye to a forward who scored one goal and made just 11 appearances in all competitions in 2021-22.
But Mariano has one more year on his contract at the Bernabeu and there are suggestions in the Spanish press that he’s happy enough to sit on the bench and collect his wages.
Vinicius Junior
Arriving for £40million as a teenager from Flamengo in Brazil, the young winger had a lot of pressure to step up when Ronaldo departed, and struggled initially.
But the 21-year-old has found his confidence and was one of the best players in Europe last season. With 17 goals and 10 assists in 35 La Liga appearances, he’s finally added a lethal end product to his game – as Liverpool found out with his match-winner in the Champions League final.
Cristiano who?
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