What’s the story?
In a yet-to-be-aired interview with Natacha Tannous for Movistar+, Cesc Fabregas has addressed several issues – one of which was that of Cristiano Ronaldo being booed at the Santiago Bernabeu after some underwhelming performances this year. He responded to it by claiming, “In the Premier League, he would not get whistled at, I'm very sure of that," before turning his attention to former club Barcelona.
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"Luis Enrique's doing phenomenal, he's been perfect these last two years," he said of the club who are currently 2nd in La Liga. “If you have Messi, the cycle does not end.”
Speaking about his current situation at Chelsea, Fabregas remained positive, saying, “It's a new situation that I do not hide from. I'm going to fight to the end to play more, I know I can. It has been proven that every time I've played I have a place on the team.”
In case you didn’t know...
The Santiago Bernabeu has been directing its infamous impatience at Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017, in spite of Real Madrid being top of the table and the Portuguese himself having scored 4 goals and assisted 1 in the 6 games he’s played.
The latest instance came in their game against Real Sociedad where he was booed after a poor touch gave away possession around the middle of the first half. Cameras captured Ronaldo mouthing what was later claimed to be substantial abuse in the direction of the fans.
The heart of the matter
Cristiano Ronaldo is not the first superstar to have been booed at the home of Real Madrid, nor is he going to be the last. Fabregas himself would be quite familiar with the sound of jeering at the Bernabeu having played there with bitter rivals Barcelona, and stints in both the Premier League and La Liga are what he shares in common with the current Ballon d'Or awardee.
Given the amount of admiration Manchester United fans still hold for Ronaldo, Fabregas is perhaps right in his claims that the fans in England wouldn’t subject him to such treatment.
What’s next?
In the game against Real Sociedad, Ronaldo scored and bagged an assist to turn the jeers into cheers – nothing less than what would be expected of him. As for Fabregas himself, he sees his future in the MLS.
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Asked about the Chinese Super League, he said, “You never know. Once I don't think I can play in Europe, my plan at the moment is to go to the United States. But you never know.”
Sportskeeda’s Take
It is never a pretty scene when fans boo their own players, and certainly not when they do so to someone who has been arguably the best in the club’s history. While Ronaldo himself might have claimed that hate makes him stronger, he’s definitely human and would expect to be treated better.
As long as he exacts that treatment from the fans by scoring and assisting goals, we have little to complain about.
