Criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo is unjust

Cristiano Ronaldo scored in Real Madrid’s 2-0 Champions League victory over Schalke on Wednesday night to end a three game run without a goal

Real Madrid defeated German team Schalke 2-0 at the Veltins Arena in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 on Wednesday night.

Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring for Los Blancos and had a hand in his team’s second goal scored by Brazilian full-back Marcelo.

Criticism

Just over a month ago Ronaldo claimed his third Ballon d’Or award, as he was deservedly crowned the best player in the world.

Yet just a few weeks later fans and Spanish football pundits seem to be looking to find a reason to criticise the Portuguese forward.

He had gone three games without a goal prior to scoring in last night’s match, which apparently is a cause for a national emergency in Spain. For any other player, barring Lionel Messi of course, that would not be such a big deal, but because it was Ronaldo all of a sudden he is finished.

Ronaldo has recently also been criticised for his red card against Cordoba and enjoying his 30^th birthday party, despite the fact that Real had just suffered a 4-0 hammering at the hands of arch-rivals Atletico Madrid.

There were rumours that some of the Real players were unhappy with Ronaldo and decided to boycott the party. When in fact most probably did not feel comfortable going to such an event after such a big defeat.

Sky Sports pundit Terry Gibson accused Ronaldo of being ‘goal-obsessed’, which is a ridiculous comment to make when at the end of the day football comes down to who scores the most goals.

Ronaldo is the player he is because he is so driven to personal success. That is why he has won the Ballon d’Or three times in his career. Football is a team game, but it needs special individuals like Ronaldo to make it entertaining, as much as it hurts me to say.

Standards

Cristiano Ronaldo is a victim of his own very high standards. Everybody is accustomed to seeing Ronaldo finding the net on a regular basis for Los Blancos and when he does not journalists tend to assume there is a problem.

As much as Cristiano Ronaldo may like to think that he is god-like, he is only human and will encounter troughs in form. It does not happen often to the Portuguese star, but when it does people cannot wait to put the boot in.

Opinions

Ronaldo has always evoked differing opinions and emotions amongst football fans. Fans of Manchester United and Real Madrid no doubt love him, as he has been an outstanding performer for both institutions. However, rivals fans have called Ronaldo arrogant, self-centred and egotistical.

Those rival fans must be wishing that Ronaldo had played for their club and scored the amount of goals he has for the clubs he has represented.

His perception has slightly changed in recent years, as he has matured as a person. His personality has not changed and he is still extremely driven.

Statistics

Statistics do not lie and Cristiano Ronaldo’s statistics are hard to ignore, even for his harshest critic. The 30-year-old may have only scored five goals since the turn of the year, but his scoring record for the season speaks for itself.

His opener against Schalke last night was his 76^th goal in European competitions, which put him equal with Real legend Raul and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi as the top ever goalscorers in European competitions.

Ronaldo has also scored an incredible 35 goals in 27 appearances for Real Madrid this season in all competitions, with 28 of those coming in the Spanish top-flight, currently two more than Messi in La Liga.

Ronaldo is again favourite to win the Pichichi this season at odds of 8/13 and it would be hard to argue with his status as favourite to claim the award again.

Outstanding

Love him or loathe him, Cristiano Ronaldo has proved throughout his career that he is an outstanding footballer. I have to admit that I have not always been the biggest fan of Ronaldo’s, but his talent is hard to ignore.

The recent criticism of the Portuguese star has been well over-the-top. Football is a fickle game and no doubt those criticising his performances prior to last night’s game will be the same people praising Ronaldo in the future.

Is the recent criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo justified?