Talking about LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo is talking about excellence in sport. It is nothing less than two active legends of basketball and soccer, so actually buying them is not difficult. Rather it is a simple task, as both have enjoyed countless successes individually and with their teams throughout their careers.
Another thing that should be highlighted about them is their enormous professionalism. It's just that being an outstanding player at 25 or 26 is not the same as being one at 37. There are cases like Javier Zanetti in soccer, who retired at 40 at Inter Milan; o Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired at age 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers.
They are specific, unique cases. Something reserved for very few, and only those willing to be very professional for several years of career. This is undoubtedly the case with these two players: no one doubts today that they are among the best in the world in their respective sports. However, far from enjoying the last years of their career, they are hostages to the mediocrity of others.
LeBron James' career
LeBron James was the first overall pick of the 2003 Draft. He was chosen by the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team in which he was from that year to 2010. With the Cavs he would reach the finals in 2007, but they lost to the San Antonio Spurs. After 7 years, he went to Miami Heat where he formed one of the best teams in recent years.
James coincided in the Florida franchise with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosch, with whom he formed a great "Big Three", who would play four NBA finals: two were defeats (2011 against Dallas Mavericks and 2014 against San Antonio Spurs) and two were victories (2012 against the Oklahoma City Thunder and 2013 against the San Antonio Spurs).
After the 2014 Finals, LeBron decided to return to Cleveland with a mission to win the franchise's first ring. In 2015 they came close, losing the final against the Golden State Warriors. The following year they would take revenge by beating the Warriors, but would lose the finals again to the San Francisco team in 2017 and 2018. In 2018 he rejected the renewal with the Cavs to go to the Los Angeles Lakers, a team with which he would win the 2020 championship.
The following year they lost in the first round of the Playoffs against the Phoenix Suns. Finally, last season a team was formed to fight for the title, although in the end they did not even qualify for the Play-in. Among other achievements, LeBron is the top scorer in the history of the NBA Playoffs, and the second in the history of the league. He was a 4-time Finals MVP and a 4-time Regular Season MVP.
Cristiano Ronaldo's career
Something very remarkable about CR7 is the number of big teams in which he played throughout his career, leaving good memories in all of them. From an early age, the Portuguese showed that he would be a world soccer star. At the age of 17 he debuted in Sporting CP, having outstanding performances that caught the attention of the historical Alex Ferguson.
Just one year in his country's team would last CR7 before moving on to the tough Premier League, in one of the most emblematic teams in that country: Manchester United. With that team they would win 10 titles, including 3 Premier Leagues, and 1 UEFA Champions League and 1 Club World Cup. In 2008 he would win the first of his 5 Golden Balls (the others were in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017).
In 2009 he would go to Real Madrid, where he would play for 9 years, increasing his harvest of titles: no less than 16 titles, 10 of which were at the international level. There were 4 Champions Leagues, 3 Club World Cups, 3 European Super Cups, 2 Leagues, 2 Copas del Rey and 2 Spanish Super Cups, in addition to Euro 2016 with the Portugal national team. After the 2018 Champions League, he would go to Juventus.
In the Italian club he could not win at international level, although he did have many successes in local competitions. There were 5 titles, including 2 Series A. In 2021 he decided to return to a Manchester United in crisis to help him get back to the top. Including goals for Portugal, Ronaldo has 816 goals in 1,129 games, for an impressive average of 0.73 goals per game.
The present of both
As mentioned before, both players are 37 years old (LeBron will turn 38 on December 30 of this year and CR7 on February 5 of next) and have an outstanding career. At this age, these being their last active years, one would think that they should enjoy themselves a little more instead of going through certain uncomfortable situations because of the mediocrity of others and not because of their own lack of talent.
It would be understandable that they go through this situation if they were in rather small teams, where the budget is not enough to have great players. But is not the case. Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most important franchises in the NBA while Manchester United are a historic Premier League team.
LeBron was imprisoned in a team that last season was full of stars and could not even reach the Play-in. This season it would seem that the same story repeats itself: the Lakers are showing a low level, and all the players are the focus of criticism. Although in the case of LeBron, it is not so much him who is attacked, but rather Russell Westbrook. It happens that, at 37 years old, a player must bring more experience, and the leadership must be carried out by younger players.
Cristiano Ronaldo is even worse. Unlike James, for some fans or journalists it seems that everything bad that happens in Manchester United is his fault. CR7 is blamed again and again, as if Maguire's defensive mistakes, De Gea's bloopers, McTominay's childish penalties or Sancho's bad passes were all his fault.
As if that were not enough, now the coach Ten Hag does not seem to be clear about whether or not he wants to have the Portuguese. Although it is true that Cristiano has had very questionable attitudes, it is unfair to blame him for the team's bad moment. It really hurts, just as it happens with LeBron, to see how these legends spend their last years of career wrapped in controversy instead of fighting for titles, hostages of someone else's mediocrity.
