What’s the story?
Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly lost his cool during his side’s 3-0 win over Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and called the home fans “sons of b*****s” after the home supporters booed him during the game.
The incident took place in the 23rd minute when the Portuguese international failed to retain the ball, which allowed Sociedad to regain possession. As soon as Ronaldo lost the ball, the home fans booed their star forward, which was not received well by the Ballon d’Or winner.
Ronaldo was upset with his fans’ behaviour and was seen mouthing the aforementioned insult in Spanish.
His club teammate Mateo Kovacic, meanwhile, urged Real supporters not to boo their star player, who, according to him is under a lot of pressure. “As for Ronaldo, he's under a lot of pressure and that's to be expected. A player who gets a goal every game is under a lot of pressure, but you just can't boo him," said Kovacic.
In case you didn’t know...
Real Madrid fans have a history of booing their own players. Even when the Spanish capital club went on to win matches on several occasions after trailing, the home supporters jeered their team, unwilling to wait for the final outcome of the match. There have been instances when the fans have waved white handkerchiefs to express their displeasure as well.
One of the times this happened was when Real lost 4-0 to Barcelona in November 2015, when Rafael Benitez was in charge of the club. The former Liverpool manager was relieved of his duties months later and was replaced by Zinedine Zidane.
The heart of the matter
Prior to the clash against Sociedad, Madrid managed only one win in their last five matches in all competitions. Their 40-match unbeaten run came to an end and they were also knocked out of the Copa del Rey in the quarter-finals.
Los Blancos fans were expecting a reaction from their team and they responded as Ronaldo got on the scoresheet for the 11-time European winners, who went on to beat Sociedad 3-0 at home.
During the course of the match, the former Manchester United man was seen exchanging words with his teammates Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema, which looked like he was expressing his frustration with the fans' reactions.
What's next?
Ramos had earlier called for Real Madrid fans to support the team in order to help them win the title for the first time since 2012. They need to get behind the team instead of criticising players, especially Ronaldo.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Criticising players during the course of the match will only put more pressure on their shoulders. This will have an adverse effect on them, and could eventually lead to defeat.
