It's been a tumultuous couple of weeks at Real Madrid. The Vikings finished the 2014 2015 La Liga season without a title, manager Carlo Ancelotti was unceremoniously sacked, and rumors about the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo got kicked up like dust in the wind. Needless to say, the idea of Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid for a new chapter at another club has many of football's biggest teams adjusting their transfer goals for the summer. But is Cristiano Ronaldo slowing down, and beginning to show his age, is he still a valuable asset?

One rumor says that Chelsea FC is prepared to shell out £71.5 million to bring Cristiano to Stamford Bridge in 2015 2016. But is that hefty dollar figure (it would be the fourth highest transfer fee ever) a worthwhile investment considering that Ronaldo is already 30? Or does the Portuguese soccer star still have a few years of greatness left in him before he starts to look his age?

Looking at the 2014 2015 Season

Regardless of the tumult going on at Santiago Bernebeu right now, the football club did not have a bad season. Carlo Ancelotti's sacking was an unnecessary move, given Real's success in the La Liga (the club came in second, and contended with Barcelona for the title right up until the last few weeks), as well as a solid run in the UEFA Champions League. The Vikings may not have brought home a ton of trophies in the past year (though they did win the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup), but most fans still had plenty of reason to wear the Real Madrid home jersey 2014 2015.

Ronaldo was particularly stunning this year. If you want to argue that Cristiano hasn't lost a step since turning 30 in February, all you need to do is cite his 2014 2015 stats. He was La Liga's top scorer this year, scoring 48 goals in league to top Lionel Messi by five, and the rest of the field by 26.

In fact, 2014 2015 was Ronaldo's most prolific scoring year yet. He nearly nabbed the La Liga all-time scoring record for a season (Messi keeps the record for now, for his 50-goal run in 2011 2012). Messi set the record in 37 appearances, though, while Cristiano only had 35 appearances this season. With another two games, he may well have set a new record.

In terms of competing against himself, Ronaldo's 2014 2015 football season tops his previous personal best year, 2011 2012. In his second season at Real Madrid, Cristiano netted 46 goals in league, and 60 overall. This year, his overall tally was 61, thanks mostly to a 10-goal run at the Champions League.

Needless to say, Cristiano Ronaldo is still one of the greatest players in the world, if not the greatest in the world. In terms of statistics, it's tough to believe he's already 30 and difficult to imagine this Portuguese star slowing down.

Signs of Slowing Down

But while his statistics may say one thing, Ronaldo's presence and play style on the field has some soccer analysts convinced that his peak years are nearing their conclusion, and that Ronaldo is in fact slowing down. Grantland suggests that Cristiano's athleticism declined noticeably during the 2014 2015 season, with his speed and technique still impressive, but not what they used to be. The article suggests that perhaps Ronaldo is just showing signs of fatigue, after two intense seasons at Real Madrid and a World Cup campaign between them. Whatever the reason, though, it makes sense that Ronaldo might be slowing down: soccer is a young man's game, and Cristiano isn't 25 anymore.

Last year's World Cup campaign with Portugal gave other signs that Cristiano was showing his age and slowing down a bit. Ronaldo struggled with a knee injury last spring at Real Madrid, but still led the team to a Champions League victory. But the injury lingered throughout the summer and drastically affected Portugal's campaign at the World Cup in Brazil. The Portuguese side went from being ranked third or fourth in the world on FIFA's rankings, to exiting the world football tournament after the group stage. And while Ronaldo tried to help, he ultimately couldn't do much, for fear of doing permanent damage to his knee and his career.

Ronaldo will continue to don the Portugal away jersey 2015 2016 throughout the summer and fall, as his national team pursues qualification for the 2016 European Championship. For the most part, though, Cristiano will finally have an opportunity to rest and recuperate this summer, after two years of almost non-stop action. In other words, it might be best to wait until next fall to see whether Ronaldo is truly starting to slow down and show his age, or if he is just exhausted from a busy, high-pressure schedule.

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