Cristiano Ronaldo refused to celebrate his goal against Granada during the weekend rout in a reaction to jeering from the Madrid crowd who were unhappy with his recent performances. The Portuguese striker has been under fire since his below-par showing in the Clasico and some fans feel that he can be quite selfish at times.
Scoring his 21st La Liga goal of the season and Madrid’s 5th in the 5-1 victory, Ronaldo simply bowed his head and trudged back to the halfway line almost as though he’d put it in the wrong net, refusing to acknowledge his team mates whatsoever. Madrid based sports paper, Marca., noted that there are ‘significant sections of the Bernabeu complaining about Ronaldo and he doesn’t like it’.
It can be frustrating for Ronaldo as Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain have struck up a neat partnership recently and threaten to steal some of the limelight and glamour from Cristiano’s display, an implausible proposition for him. While we all know about the aura and charisma of Ronaldo, there is no one better to deal with him than fellow countryman and Real manager, Jose Mourinho, though his own ego does sometimes land himself in trouble.
Anyone who knows Ronaldo will realise that his selfishness is just something that comes with the talented winger; he believes that every time he wins possession he will score, and this belief often blocks out team members in better positions from his mindset. Sergio Ramos has said ‘that’s just the way Ronaldo is’ and it appears that he is trying too hard to induce his own confidence, resulting in the Madridistas jumping on his back.
The only way for this confidence to return is to play well, and with the two in form players alongside Ronaldo, the sensible option would be to share the attention with them and assist, rather than inhibit by shooting so often. Fernando Torres has taken this choice and although he doesn’t score so much, he is ensuring that he is helping the team despite his long drought and building enough confidence to score goals again. Some neat teamwork in setting up a goal would do wonders for Ronaldo’s confidence and allow his team mates to share the glory. His problem is with the fans, not the players and at the moment, Ronaldo is not allowing the team the maximum amount of decent goalscoring opportunities.
It appears that the Pichichi is once again on Ronaldo’s mind, looking to break his record of 41 La Liga goals from last season. Personal achievement has to evade him if the team are to reclaim the title after a couple of years of Bacrelona dominance because a prolific Ronaldo is priceless, he’s just trying too hard to become that enigma currently. Though it isn’t as if chances won’t come this way in a free-scoring Madrid side.
