World Soccer Presents - Rise of Ronaldo (2022)

46 RISEOFRONALDO

REALMADRID

but still unloved

C

ristianoRonaldois on hisway backtoManchester

United.TheChampionsLeaguedrawmeansthat

hewill play at OldTraffordfor thefirst time since

joiningRealMadridfor£80millioninthe

summerof 2009. Forthefirsttimeand thelast?

Whileeconomicssuggest perhapsnot,emotionssuggest

hewouldnotmind.Thisseasonhasbroughtstronghints

thatthePortuguese no longerseeshis future in Spain.

Hiscontractexpiresin 2 01 5 and, so far, therehasbeen

littlesignofhimrenewinghisdealwithMadrid.If he does

departhe will do so as oneoftheclub’s finestfootballers,

a manwhohasbrokenrecordsateveryturn.

“I’msure thatfacingManchester Unitedwillbe very special

forhim,”saidRealMadrid’sinstitutionaldirectorandformer

player EmilioButraguenoafterthedraw.Ronaldoreportedly

toldfriendsthatifhescoreshewillnotcelebrate.And while

thereasonsare very different,it wouldnotbethefirsttime.

InSeptember, Ronaldoscored twiceagainstGranadaatthe

Bernabeuina 3-0victory.Thesecondwas his 15 0th goalfor

Real,buthe didnotcelebrate eitherofthem.Thereason,

hesaidafterwards,was that he was“sad”.

Thatweek, AndresIniestahadwonUEFA’sEuropeanPlayer

award.Ronaldohadbeenforcedtolookonasanothertrophy

eludedhim- andthistimenoteventoLionelMessi.But that

wasnotthe reason,Ronaldosaid.

Whathedidnotsaywaswhatthereasonreallywas.

After thegame,Ronaldoappeared in themixedzone

and,asthe mediagathered,theobviousquestionwas

asked:“Whydidn’tyoucelebrate?”

“MaybeI am a bitsad,” he replied.

“Whyareyou sad?”

“Peopleknowwhy.”

“BecauseofIniesta?”

“No,notbecauseofthat.There aremoe i

That’s[the]past.I’mOK. Anyoneofthetre

havewonit.Hedeservesit.”

“Isitsomethingtodowiththeclub,the?”

“I’mnotgoingtosayanythingelse.Peolekn

“Personalorprofessional?”

“Professional.”

Andso theinterrogationcontinued...

“Whydo yousaythepeopleknow?Whichpo

“Peopleinsidethe club.Theyknow.I ca’ts

Ronaldoshiftedas if to leavebuttheqesti

“Isthisa passing irritation?Howdo youfeel”

“Idon’tknow. We’llsee.”

“Whyareyou[sad]?”

“I’mnot sayinganythingelse.”

Heleft withoutsayinganythingelse.Heha

since,but he didnotreallyneedto.Thewrd“

evenbeenstrongerthanheintended,but

explainit. Indeed,heusedthe word again,in

onhisFacebookpagestating:“I have beeacc

moremoneybutonedaypeoplewill seethat’s

Madridwerenotimpressed.Privatelytheyc

Ronaldo’s remarks to be selfishandoutofplac

quietlyensuredthatwasknown.

Thespeculationwasintenseandsmalletail

Reportspointedtoa shiftin hisrelationshipwit

mateMarcelo,whohadsaidthatIkerCasias

theBallond’Orandreportedlydescribed essi

player in theworld.There wasalsotalkof

relationshipwithothersinthe dressingrom.

Footagethenappearedthatinadverteny re

Words:SidLowe

NATIONALITYPortuguese

AGE 27 (05.02.85)

PLACE OF BIRTH

Funchal, Madeira,Portugal

HEIGHT6ft 1 in(1.86m)

POSITIONForward

TEAMS

Sporting(2002-03)

31 games/ 5 goals

ManchesterUnited(2003-09)

292 games/1 18 goals

RealMadrid(2009-present)

16 8 games/1 68 goals

Portugal(2003-present)

10 0 games/ 37 goals

HONOURS

ManchesterUnited

ClubWorldCup 2 008;

ChampionsLeague 20 08;

PremierLeague 2007 , 2008,2009;

FACup 2004;LeagueCup 2 006,

2009;CommunityShield 2007

RealMadrid

LaLiga 2012 ; CopadelRey 2011 ;

SpanishSuperCup 2012

FACTFILE

CristianoRonaldodosSantosAveiro

AmidrumoursofapotentialtransferbacktoMan

United,andashepreparedtofacehisoldclubfor

timesinceleavingOldTrafford,Ronaldo

thecoverofWorldSoccer’sFebruary2 013

Fastestto 100 RealMadrid