Greatness recognizing greatness. NFL legend Tom Brady was in town to watch Cristiano Ronaldo stun Tottenham in an outstandingly entertaining encounter that saw Manchester United defeat the North London side 3-2 and aid their push for a top-four spot.
Brady, who has since made a dramatic U-Turn on his NFL retirement, watched on from the stands at Old Trafford as Ronaldo smashed in a superb opener from long-distance before tapping from a Jadon Sancho assist and then headed in a late winner to give Ralf Rangnick’s side a much-needed win.
Tom Brady, who must clearly have been impressed with the efforts of veteran star Ronaldo, then went on to reverse his decision to retire from the NFL. He’s now back with Tampa Bay, and no doubt this has had a dramatic effect on their chances of returning to the Super Bowl. You can already see via the odds comparison & sports betting predictions from Sidelines that the Buccaneers have already started to climb the betting rankings.
Tampa Bay is now back to the third favorite, behind the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills; such is the importance of the seven-time Super Bowl winner’s presence in Bruce Arians’ set-up.
Brady and Ronaldo have a lot in common. Both are considered GOATS (Greatest of All Time) in their respective sports, and both are in the twilight of their respective careers; and in the case of the Portuguese international footballer, some had doubted the 37-year-old’s ability to still cut it at the highest level.
Ronaldo had made the emotional decision to return to Manchester United, having left the Premier League team back in 2009, joining Real Madrid and amassing a stunning club-record total of 450 goals in his nine years in the Spanish capital before moving to Turin to join Italian giants Juventus.
In Italy, he continued to score freely, but back in Manchester, things haven’t worked out all that well, though that says more about the state of the club than Ronaldo’s own abilities.
Only Mohamed Salah has scored more Premier League goals than Ronaldo this season, which shows you how effective the Manchester United man has been. He’s also spearheaded the team’s push for a strong run in the Champions League, where he’s scored six goals in six games, and frankly, one wonders quite where United would be if they hadn’t made the decision to lure him back to the club where he first made a real name for himself.
As for Brady’s presence at the game where Ronaldo reminded onlookers just what he is capable of, some believe that the starring show put on by the forward may have been the jolt that the former New England Patriots man needed to get back into the NFL game, just weeks since he decided to quit the game.
Whatever the reason for Brady’s return to American football, we can all agree that having both the star quarterback and the Manchester United attacker on the field of play, doing their level best to retain their edge, is something that fans of both sports benefit from.
