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#2 He failed to turn up at the big stages last season
It is well-known fact that Ronaldo is a man for the big occasion. Almost half of his Champions League goals have come in the knockout rounds, and he significantly dwarfs Messi's records in the latter stages of the tournament.
With 4 goals scored in Champions League finals, he is the record holder for most final goals in the Champions League era (1992 till date), as his uncanny knack for delivering on the grandest stages has seen Real Madrid win a plethora of titles.
However, last season he uncharacteristically did not turn up on the big stage. Given, he had a memorable quarter-final appearance against Juventus, where his four goals over both legs helped Real Madrid eliminate his current employers, but he put in no-shows over both legs in the semi-final against Bayern Munich, as Karim Benzema helped see Real Madrid through.
He also went AWOL in the final against Liverpool, with Gareth Bale being the talk of the match as his stunning overhead kick goal reminded everyone of his immense qualities, which led Ronaldo to childishly drop a transfer hint during Real Madrid's trophy celebration in a bid to deflect all the attention and press headlines back to him. He was rightly berated for pulling such a stunt by Sergio Ramos, but Ronaldo's aim had been achieved, as questions of whether he would stay or leave Real Madrid overshadowed the fact that he had failed to influence proceedings during the final.
In contrast, Mohammed Salah was the tormentor-in-chief during Liverpool's semi-final victory over his former club, particularly in the first leg at Anfield, where Salah was unplayable, as Liverpool ran riot in a 5-2 victory, with the Egyptian contributing two goals and registering two assists.
Much of Ronaldo's greatness has come about due to his knack for stepping up to the plate when it really matters, and with his failure to do so last season, he should step aside for someone else to take the spotlight.
