Spanish Giants, Real Madrid, thank Cristiano Ronaldo for his years of fantastic service and play as he has announced that he will be leaving the club to join Italian powerhouse, Juventus.

After 9 years with Real Madrid, the mercurial Cristiano Ronaldo calls curtains on his time in Spain. Ronaldo is set to make an expensive move over to Italian Champions, Juventus later this summer, in was is being considered a very shocking move.

In his time with Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo has has added the following to his name:

• 451 goals in 438 appearances
• 16 pieces of silverware
• 3 UEFA Champions League Titles (included above)
• 4x Ballon d’Or WInner
• 3x Golden Boot Winner

Cristiano Ronaldo has helped elevate the global footballing status of Real Madrid far more than anyone thought possible, especially since it has long since been one of the World’s top clubs. Ronaldo was instrumental in making the team and surround cast a lot better throughout the years and was seen as a player that the club could count on in any big game, no matter the stakes.

Real Madrid fans will surely be sad to see him go, however, he had helped the club accomplish great things and is leaving the club in a good place. Real Madrid will always welcome their Portuguese son with open arms as a sign of thanks.

It will be interesting to see how his departure affects the biggest rivalry in club soccer, El Classico, now that he and Lionel Messi will no longer be playing in it together. For years we’ve been previed to the debate of Messi vs. Ronaldo and we got to see them both play at the same time so many times. However, the debate and the Classico could be severely impacted with the news of Ronaldo’s departure.

Video courtesy of: Real Madrid