Real Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo Doesn't Get as Much Credit as He Deserves

Cristiano Ronaldo is only 28 years old but can already be considered one of the best players of all time. The Portuguese winger has broken countless number of records both for Manchester United and Real Madrid and will surely break many more in the future. Despite his achievements, Ronaldo is often unfairly criticized for his ”arrogance”.

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of those players than anyone would want to have playing for their team rather than against. The Portuguese winger scored 118 times for Manchester United between 2003 and 2009, winning the Ballon d’Or in 2008 after helping United to win the Premier League title and the Champion’s League. Since he joined Real Madrid in 2009, Ronaldo has scored 222 goals in 214 games. It’s normally hard to criticize someone who does his job well but the world of football seems to have something against the Portuguese winger.

Even Sepp Blatter, FIFA President who is supposed to be neutral (at least publicly) criticized Ronaldo last week for his hairstyle and referred to him as a ”commander on the field of play.” Blatter also added, ” I like both of them but I prefer Messi.” Blatter has the right like everyone else to prefer Messi but criticizing a great professional like Ronaldo was certainly inappropriate.

Ronaldo’s image has suffered a lot due to his supposed arrogance. The Portuguese winger is seen as the arrogant guy while Lionel Messi is ”a good boy that every father and every mother would like to have at home” according to Blatter. However, critics don’t seem to affect Ronaldo at all. A few days after Blatter’s comments, he scored three goals against Sevilla. Many football fans unfortunately associate Ronaldo’s name with diving and whining at the referees forgetting that he is first and foremost a wonderful football player.

Ronaldo has always been described as a great professional by all of his coaches. Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti all agree that the Portuguese International has a great work ethic and often stays after practice to work on his skills. His current and former teammates are also full of praises for him describing him as great player and teammate.

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best football players ever. Unfortunately, he is too often judged and criticized on things that have nothing to do with football but the Portuguese International always responds with terrific performances on the field. When he retires, football fans will realize how lucky they were to have seen Cristiano Ronaldo playing.