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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 mobile Also See: Ronaldo hits treble for Real La Liga Weekly Podcast Cheap Oilers Jerseys . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. Fake Oilers Jerseys . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. https://www.cheapoilers.com/ . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. Wholesale Oilers Jerseys .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. Stitched Oilers Jerseys . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. The 1.83-meter (6-foot) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger. INDIANAPOLIS -- Coming in for the injured Alex Smith, Nick Foles kept the Kansas City Chiefs on a roll on Sunday.Its a job he may have to hold down a while longer.Foles threw for one touchdown pass each time he replaced Smith, leading the Chiefs to their third consecutive victory, 30-14 at Indianapolis on Sunday.Smith left twice after taking hits to the head, once with a cut on his ear that left him disoriented and the second time with a concussion.Somehow, the tag-team quarterbacks kept the Chiefs chugging along against Indys struggling defense.He has a pretty good feel for the offense. Hes been in it before, coach Andy Reid said. Hes been a Pro Bowl player before. Hes pretty good.It was a rough game for the Chiefs, who lost Smith twice after hits to the head and finished the game with Charcandrick West as their only healthy running back.Smith left on the games opening series, but was cleared by doctors to return. He left again early in the third quarter after Clayton Geathers shoved Smiths head to the turf as the quarterback tried to slide underneath the tackle.Geathers said the hit was not intentional, but the hit left Smith with a concussion and he did not return.But both quarterbacks got the job done.Foles 14-yard TD pass to Travis Kelce early in the second quarter made it 10-0. Smith made it 17-7 at halftime with a 13-yard TD pass to Jeremy Maclin, and after Smiths second departure, Foles hooked up with Tyreek Hill on a 34-yard scoring pass for a 24-7 lead.Foles finished 16 of 22 for 223 yards with no interceptions.And this time, the Chiefs (5-2) defense prevented Andrew Luck from pulling off another comeback -- similar to the previous time these teams met in January 2014.Luck has three come-from-behind wins this season with Indy (3-5) and tried to deliver another one Sunday, but couldnt get the Colts closer than 24-14.Luck was 19 of 35 with 210 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, one fumble lost on a day his top receiver T.Y. Hilton caught only one pass.I struggled, Luck said. I think every offensive player in the room felt like we let each other down.SOCIAL MEDIA CONCERNThe social media traffic about the hits on Smith came from all corners. Some fans questioned whether Geathers intentionally drove Smiths head into the turf to knockk him out of the game.dddddddddddd Former Colts linebacker Gary Brackett wrote on Twitter that whoever cleared Smith to return should be fired, while the television announcers questioned the play call because of Smiths previous injury. Even Smiths wife, Elizabeth, piped in -- questioning how many hits it takes to draw a flag. Smith took several hits to the head in last weeks game that werent called.TROUBLE WITH TRAVISTravis Kelce exposed an old flaw in the Colts defense, covering tight ends. The Colts struggled with that all of last season, and Kelce took advantage again Sunday. He matched his season high with six receptions in the first half and finished with seven catches for 101 yards, both season highs.SLOW STARTAfter better starts each of the past two weeks, the Colts reverted to their old form against the Chiefs. Not only did they trail 17-7 at halftime, they were lucky it wasnt worse given that Kansas City had a 4 1/2-minute advantage in time of possession in the first half, settled for a 33-yard field goal and missed a 28-yarder.INJURY REPORTChiefs: In addition to Smith, starting running back Spencer Ware missed the second half with a concussion. Ware started in place of Jamaal Charles , who was inactive because of swelling in his surgically repaired knee. Left guard Parker Ehinger also left in the second half with a right knee injury and did not return.Colts: The Colts began the game without three starters and got hit even harder during the game. Pro Bowl cornerback Vontae Davis and right tackle Joe Reitz both left with concussions and did not return. Hilton returned after hurting his hamstring bur wasnt the same. And receiver Phillip Dorsett sustained an undisclosed injury on the second to last play of the game.THEY SAID ITChiefs: If we were at all concerned, we wouldnt have put him back in. Thats the bottom line, Reid talking about the decision to let Smith return in the second quarter.Colts: We took a step back today, thats obvious, coach Chuck Pagano said.UP NEXT:Colts: Travel to Green Bay next Sunday.Chiefs: Host Jacksonville next Sunday.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '