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With Cristiano Ronaldo turning 31 on Friday, what does the future hold for the Real Madrid forward? Beneath the six-pack and tan, even Ronaldo can’t halt his physical decline but he’s finding increasingly impressive ways to mask it, writes Adam Bate… When Keith Richards took to the Glastonbury stage in 2013, the days of playing fast and hard for 90 minutes or more were long behind him. And yet, the Rolling Stones guitarist still delivered. There were cheers as he stepped up to sing You Got the Silver, howls when the plectrum struck for Start Me Up and joy when the riff to Satisfaction belted out from the Pyramid Stage.For much of the intervening periods between these high points, Richards was a picture of relative inertia. Mick Taylor was drafted in for the more intricate licks, while Ronnie Wood continued to provide the ever unlikely safety net. But people remember the highlights and Richards had produced enough of them to entertain once more. The crowd went home happy. The comparison between the septuagenarian Richards and Real Madrid icon Cristiano Ronaldo is not, admittedly, an obvious one. The musicians body is more garbage dump than temple. But as Ronaldo turns 31 on Friday, his career too is entering its twilight years. Hes the one having to scale back the activity in order to keep coming up with the highlights.Time waits for no mans fast-twitch muscle fibres. Unless youre Justin Gatlin, sprinters just dont speed up after turning 30. Muscle mass and flexibility declines. Nobody is working harder than Ronaldo to delay that process - former Real assistant Paul Clement tells tales of 3am ice baths after away trips - but its a process that can only be slowed, never reversed. Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in Real Madrids 6-0 win over Espanyol at the Bernabeu Look hard enough and the proof is there in the numbers. At one time, it was Ronaldos dribbling skills that set him apart as a truly special talent. However, its this aspect of his game that now best highlights how his strengths have changed over the years. As the turn of pace has become less remarkable, the dribbling has become less frequent.In his first season at Real Madrid, Ronaldo averaged 3.3 dribbles per 90 minutes. But that number dropped to 2.3 the following season and by last year it was down to 1.6 per full game. So far this season he averages only 1.2 dribbles per 90 minutes. That puts him well outside the top 100 dribblers in La Liga and hes not in the top 100 in the Champions League this season, either. Ronaldos game has changed over the years as shown by his La Liga dribbling stats Instead, Ronaldo has been forced to find ways around the problem and its fascinating watching him attempt to do it. Becoming the purest of finishers has helped. Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen once accused Ronaldo of trying to score the perfect goal by aiming for the top corner every time, but its volume that preoccupies him now.This season has been one of goal gluts. Eight of them have come in two games against Espanyol. There were four in a Champions League game against Malmo and a hat-trick in the same competition against Shakhtar Donetsk. Prowling the environs of the penalty area, he has scored 13 times in his last six appearances in front of his adoring Real Madrid crowd. Keeping up with Lionel Messi is likely to get more and more difficult for Ronaldo Of course, with so many of his goals coming in so few of his games, there is another side to this story. Ronaldo hasnt scored on his travels since November. The best in the business is becoming a Bernabeu bully on that flattest of tracks. He knows all the short cuts there, after all. As a consequence, hes been able to mask his physical decline through goals.I think he peaked one or two years ago, Ronaldos biographer Guillem Balague told Sky Sports. What we are seeing is an extraordinary striker who will continue scoring goals, but I feel his influence on the game is diminishing. Certainly, thats true of his influence on the biggest games this season. Ronaldo has failed to score in his six matches against Europes top-20 ranked sides. What we are seeing is an extraordinary striker who will continue scoring goals, but I feel his influence on the game is diminishing. Guillem Balague So how long can Ronaldo continue to pull off the trick? He appears confident. My dream is to retire at Real Madrid, he told Marca in October. If you take care of yourself you can play until you are 40. I want to keep going for another five or six years. By November, that had changed slightly with a timetable of retirement in four or five years being floated.Former Real Madrid fitness coach Valter Di Salvo once predicted that Ronaldo will play up to the age of 38 at the top, but whats clear is that the stopwatch has started. As a battle with Lionel Messi subsides, the battle with Father Time becomes more urgent. Its one even Ronaldo cant win. But just like Richards as he sent the crowds wild at Glastonbury, he might yet be able to provide a memorable moment or two along the way. Get Sky Sports Alerts Breaking news, line ups and goal alerts from Real Madrid - direct to your mobileAlso See:Ronaldo hits treble for RealLa Liga Weekly PodcastCheap Nike Air Max 90 .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. Nike Air Max 90 Sale . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. https://www.cheapnikeairmax90china.us/ .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. Clearance Nike Air Max 90 . Emery skated the length of the ice and fought an unwilling Holtby during the third period of the Flyers 7-0 loss Friday night in Philadelphia. He was given 29 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct. But Emery did not face even a disciplinary hearing with NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan because rules 46. Wholesale Nike Air Max 90 . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence.WASHINGTON -- John Tortorella had worried about Sundays game, the first matinee for the Columbus all season. He didnt want the Washington Capitals to get off to a quick start.The Capitals scored on Nicklas Backstroms goal barely three minutes into the game, but the Blue Jackets didnt fold and got a last-minute goal with Backstrom in the penalty box and escaped with their fourth straight win, 3-2 over the angry Capitals. Backstrom was called for high-sticking Nick Foligno with 1:34 remaining, a penalty that the Capitals vehemently disputed.Alexander Wennberg took a pass from Foligno and slammed it past Capitals goalie Braden Holtby with 54 seconds left in the game. The goal was confirmed after a video review.It was the Blue Jackets second power play goal of the game, and Washington coach Barry Trotz didnt like the call that cost his team.If you see the replay, he doesnt really touch him, and his head pops up when (Backstroms) stick is already on the way down. Thats just a little disrespectful to the game, Trotz said. The penalty call was not great for me.Backstrom, who also assisted on Alex Ovechkins ninth goal of the season midway through the second period, didnt think he touched Foligno.Last two minutes you get a penalty thats not a penalty, thats tough, Backstrom said.Columbus has its longest winning streak since they ran off nine straight wins from March 18-April 4, 2015.Sometimes it seemed like they took over the game more and more but we started to play smart and at the end of the game we felt like we played smart and got opportunity to score, Wennberg said. Find a way to win. Its as eeasy as that.ddddddddddddTortorella, who has eliminated morning skates from the Blue Jackets routine, talked to his team about the perils of getting off to a slow start.They score one, but they dont score the two and three where it can really knock you out in an afternoon game like this, really a morning game, he said. That steadied us a little bit.Ovechkins ninth goal of the season gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead, but the Blue Jackets tied it just 14 seconds into the third period on Brandon Dubinskys second goal of the season.Columbus goal by Foligno six minutes into the second period broke Washingtons streak of 15 straight successful penalty kills.Other than the disputed call, Trotz didnt find much to find fault with -- even though it was the Capitals second loss in five days to the Blue Jackets.They played a solid game. We played a solid game. Theres not going to be a lot of mistakes, Trotz said.Game notesWashington was without C Lars Eller and RW T.J. Oshie. Both have upper-body injuries. They were injured in Fridays game against Detroit. . C Paul Carey was recalled from AHL Hershey. . Columbus D Dalton Prout (upper body) missed his third straight game. . D Todd Jones (foot) was out for the sixth straight game. Tortorella says Jones is back practicing with the team, but isnt sure when hell return.UP NEXT:Blue Jackets: Host Colorado on Monday. They play five games in seven nights.Capitals: Continue season-long five-game homestand against St. Louis on Wednesday. ' ' '