There is no doubting that Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers of all time. With him in the side, Real Madrid scores on average half a goal more than they do without him playing.

Just this Sunday, Ronaldo celebrated his 32nd birthday after an amazing year in which he leads his team towards the Champions League, as well as winning the European Championship trophies. The Real Madrid superstar striker showed no signs of slowing down as he had a very impressive 12 months in 2016, picking up another Ballon d'Or as well as being crowned the Goal 50 winner.

Ronaldo getting closer to retirement

However, with each passing year and every birthday he passes, the Portuguese soccer legend is getting closer and closer to retirement, with his time at Real Madrid shortening even further. According to Goal.com, he has been at Santiago Bernabeu since signing from Manchester United in 2009, scoring a whopping more goals than matches played for the Spanish giants with 384 goals from 373 appearances in all competitions.

Is Madrid going to struggle once Ronaldo Retires?

But are Real Madrid that worse when Ronaldo does not play? According to statistics, they only score 2.4 goals a game compared to 2.9 when Ronaldo does play. With that being said, are they truly doomed once Ronaldo retires?

The stats have indicated that Ronaldo's presence in their line-up actually makes a little-to-no difference, except for in the goals scored. The two-time Champions League winner's goals scored column is greatly amped by the fact that he has 40 hat-tricks with two goals in 62 other games.

In fact, in La Liga, Thenet24th confirmed that Real Madrid's win percentage is even higher when Ronaldo is out of the team (76.1% with Ronaldo, 76.5% without Ronaldo).

Madrid will be fine

When he does play, Ronaldo makes Madrid win more comfortably, but all in all, they really do not need him to win. In conclusion, Ronaldo is no doubt a great entertainer for Real Madrid, but they can actually cope without him.

Though he is another year older and another year closer to calling it a career, but based on the stats, Real Madrid can survive without him.

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