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In the past, I used to love Cristiano Ronaldo as a player for his goals and for being the main man of Manchester United. Today, I admire him for his professionalism and relentless approach towards the game.
Back in 2006, Ronaldo was accused of getting Wayne Rooney sent off during the World Cup quarterfinal in Germany. After that game, rumours sparked like fire claiming that Ronaldo was leaving United based on that incident.
Months of speculations went by till the start of the 2006-07 season, and Ronaldo eventually stayed. However, he knew what was going to come in every single league game. Every time he had the ball, boos echoed throughout the stadium; heinous insults were prevalent all around, since the incident had left a bitter taste in every Englishman.
The pressure and attention would have been too much for any other footballer. But Ronaldo responded to the boos and criticism in a way only he knows. In that season he registered 23 goals and won his first league title. With every goal he scored the noise wavered bit by bit, and soon it was silent.
Come 2007-08, and he fully cemented himself in the United all-time greats' list by winning the league again and the prestigious Champions League. He registered 42 goals in 49 games, numbers which were unfathomable at that point of time. He raised the bar so high that only a certain Argentine plying his trade in Catalonia would match it in the years to come.
Fast forward to 2017-18, and Ronaldo had won countless trophies and individual awards. But now that he was 33, fans, pundits and the press were doubting his ability to deliver in the colours of Los Blancos.
The fans and media can praise you for a hat-trick on Wednesday night but are swift to put you down for a chance missed on a Sunday afternoon. Ronaldo wasn’t going to receive special treatment just because he was Madrid’s all-time top goal scorer.
The concentration and mental level required were huge at the world’s biggest club. Was Ronaldo going to yield to those noises? He began by scoring regularly in the LaLiga at the end of January 2018, an indication he was back to his best.
Perhaps the biggest goals he scored came in the quarterfinals against Juventus, across both legs. He showed world-class athleticism by scoring an outrageous bicycle kick in Turin. Ronaldo was making a huge statement with that: he was still able to deliver.
A week later in the Bernabéu, Juventus fought back to level the score 3-3, forcing extra time. In the dying seconds, a penalty was given to the home side.
There was a questionable call in that penalty, and the Juventus players argued with the referee, Buffon seeing red in the process. Chiellini, Manžukić and Matuidi then tried to get into Ronaldo’s head as he prepared to take the spot kick.
But he was undeterred, since these mind games were all too familiar for him. He took a deep breath, ran up towards the ball and lashed it into the top right corner.
The manner with which it was taken was astonishing, considering the situation. This was what CR7 is all about; he was born for these moments. He thrives in these intense environments, when all the odds are against him.
Messi is clearly much more talented than Ronaldo, but Ronaldo is mentally stronger. The Portuguese showed brilliant sportsmanlike behaviour in the final of Euro 2016 where he was seen constantly encouraging his team. I can’t be sure of Messi doing the same if he was off injured in a final.
The boy from Madeira has been silencing tongues since his childhood, and he is still doing it in the colours of the Old Lady.
Ronaldo is definitely one of the greatest footballers and sportsmen of all time. Don't let anyone make you believe otherwise.
