What’s the story?
Real Madrid suffered only their second defeat of the La Liga season at the Mestalla against Valencia and let Barcelona and Sevilla back in the title race. Ronaldo was visibly frustrated towards the end of the game and reportedly shouted “I scored a goal, what did you do?” to one of his teammates.
But Marca are reporting that this is indeed false and the jibe was actually a joke aimed at his former Manchester United teammate Nani. The two Portuguese internationals had a good relationship when they played together at Manchester United.
This according to the Spanish outlet an attempt to mock his former teammate after his side lost against Valencia. The earlier reports suggested that the statement he made while he was heading into the tunnel was in anger.
In case you didn’t know...
Nani was touted as the next Ronaldo when he burst onto the scene in the Premier League but unfortunately, he was never able to hit the heights of his fellow countryman. He is still an enormously talented player but could never meet the expectations that were set by the United fans after his early promise.
Also Read: Cristiano Ronaldo blasts Real Madrid teammate after loss against Valencia
The heart of the matter
Real Madrid have not had a good record at the Mestalla in recent years. They are winless against Valencia away from home for three seasons running. Their record reads 2 losses and 1 draw.
This stat makes it all the more frustrating for both players and fans. Given this was one of Real Madrid’s games in hand it was a big chance to extend their lead at the top which they blew.
Ronaldo who had yet another good game was left ruing his team’s performance but Zidane was even more upset as he blew his cap in the post-match press conference. It seems that the Portuguese might have actually just jokingly teased Nani.
Since nobody has yet identified the teammate several are referring to nothing can be stated confidently about who the jibe was aimed at.
What’s next?
If Zidane does not sort out any issues between Ronaldo and the teammate in question, Madrid could suffer even more given they have a tough away fixture away to Villarreal coming up. But if it is Nani then this matter can be brushed aside as nothing more than harmless banter.
Sportskeeda’s take
Despite what Marca are claiming this may have well been a case of Ronaldo losing his head. He has done it in the past but his teammates have learnt to deal with it in the time he has been part of the squad.
