#2 Criticising his teammates
Accusations of selfish behaviour have always dogged Ronaldo and some of his on-pitch antics have contributed to this. However, he’s also landed himself in hot water with both teammates and ex-teammates by using his sharp tongue.
In a 2016 interview, Ronaldo was asked whether he had a good relationship with his fellow Real players Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale. His response? A great relationship wasn’t needed, as he’d succeeded at Manchester United despite never talking to Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs or Paul Scholes. Quite why he felt the need to say this I’m unsure, especially as he apparently used to live next door to Ferdinand who claimed they were close friends.
His Real teammates haven’t been impervious to his criticisms either. After a 2016 loss to Atletico Madrid – a game which Bale, Pepe and Marcelo missed due to injury – Ronaldo hit out at his teammates, saying that “if they were all at my level, maybe we’d be leaders” – a reference to his own impressive fitness, and a clear knock at the fitness of his teammates.
Perhaps Ronaldo had a point, but throwing his teammates under the bus in interviews can’t do much good for team morale, and it’s a cowardly thing to do.