Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrogance has long been acknowledged as one of his character flaws, but Portugal teammate Ricardo Quaresma has defended his countryman, claiming that Ronaldo is in fact, not arrogant. The Besiktas winger also went on to praise the Real Madrid superstar, noting that he is a great captain, who is selfless in his leadership skills.
Fresh off a stunning victory in Euro 2016, Quaresma gave a lengthy interview to Portuguese publication Jornal de Noticias and when asked about his captain’s nature, vehemently denied allegations of his arrogance, saying “[Ronaldo] is a person who likes to play. He's not as arrogant as people paint.”
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Quaresma also noted that Ronaldo’s captaincy skills left nothing to be desired, with the Madrid star exhorting his teammates from the sdelines despite getting injured in the final. Ronaldo’s former teammate from Sporting Lisbon noted his contribution, saying “And he is a great captain. A person who's always ready to help our colleagues.”
Ronaldo’s antics on the sidelines in the Euro 2016 final have become the stuff of legend, with Quaresma revealing the thoughts that went through the Portuguese side when the former Ballon d’Or winner went down injured, saying “What are we thinking? You are missing your leader. He is our leader.But the truth is that we gave a good answer and he did not fail to support his colleagues.”
“In pain or no pain, and at the time he was in so much pain, he was jumping and pushing everyone so that his colleagues heard.”
Quaresma reflects on growing up together with Ronaldo at Sporting Lisbon
Cristiano Ronaldo and Ricardo Quaresma broke through from the Sporting Lisbon academy at the same time, with Quaresma as highly rated as Ronaldo, but perhaps not sharing the same will to succeed as the Madeira-born striker. The Besiktas winger revealed his admiration, saying “I have admired him since we started playing at Sporting, because already as kids he showed his strength.”
“Sometimes I played with him and [it was] said: 'you're small, you're skinny, you won't be able to get there. And Cristiano was going into the bathrooms to fill buckets and do weights with buckets. He is a person who never let himself go down for anything or anyone.”
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While the duo have shared a dissimilar career path despite starting off in similar environs, the Euro 2016 win is a moment of their careers coming full circle, with Quaresma sharing a massive triumph with Ronaldo.
