Cristiano Ronaldo’s signature knuckleball free kicks truly were a sight to behold in the earlier stages of his career.‘CR7’ was brilliant in his first spell at Manchester United. So much so that he won the Ballon D’or in 2008 whilst still playing for the Red Devils. Over his time with the club, he developed into a player that had everything, quick feet, athleticism, was strong in the air, and significantly for this article, a vicious free-kick.However, it was at Real Madrid where he really went to the next level and entered the greatest of all-time conversation. His impact in the Spanish capital following his £80 million move was instantaneous.Forty-four goal involvements in his first 35 games, the lofty price tag was quickly justified. Yet, it wasn’t just the number of goals but the calibre of them which was grabbing the attention of Madridistas.His iconic knuckle ball style free-kick made him the next in a long line of dead ball specialists that had graced the Santiago Bernabeu before him, of which the likes of Roberto Carlos, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham quickly spring to mind.And Ronaldo certainly did not disappoint when it came to living up to expectations, as shown in a video shared by Twitter user ‘@laligafrauds’…

Video: Ronaldo's free-kick goals at Real Madrid in 2009/10

The video includes six free-kick goals from his first season with the club, all of which were totally outrageous. The fourth goal must have been from nearly 40-yards and still the keeper could get nowhere near it as the ball flew into the top corner.

Ronaldo has racked up an impressive haul of 57 free-kick goals in his career; however, his reputation as a master of the art has surely been in decline over recent seasons.

In January, Squawka Football calculated the amount of free-kick goals Ronaldo had scored since the start of the 2017-18 season — and look away die hard Ronaldo loyalists –– from 90 attempts just one free-kick goal has been scored.

That is some drop off from the previous heights that Ronaldo used to reach. But what’s changed? Well, here at GiveMeSport we dived into that issue last year, as Sports Scientist Dr. Rajpal Brar released a video analysing what had gone wrong for ‘CR7’ on the free-kick front.

Dr. Brar believes that while Ronaldo’s free-kick power hasn’t diminished, a sudden lack of lift and absence in unpredictable movement are the factors behind his decline.

Whether we will see Ronaldo return to his sensational best before his retirement remains to be seen. One thing’s for sure, though, he used to have a cracking free-kick on him.