Cristiano Ronaldo has recently had to go through another changing of the gaurd at Real Madrid. A new crop of World Cup standouts is on their way in, and fan favorite Angel Di Maria has been pushed out. In the wake of Di Maria's exit, Ronaldo voiced his disagreements with the way Real Madrid has been handling the roster. Ronaldo is not happy, and we're going to try and explain why.
Since his then-world-record transfer to Real Madrid from Manchester United, Cristiano has been a dynamo of a footballer. His ability to consistently dominate took a little time but, since rounding into form, he has joined Lionel Messi at the top of the game. However, during the past couple of seasons, his individual prowess has taken a back seat to the ambitions of Real Madrid. The club wants to sign the biggest stars in the world, and is forcing Ronaldo to fight for his perch atop Los Galacticos.
Gone are Mesut Ozil - the artful yin to Ronaldo's dominant yang - and Di Maria - the workhorse of a midfielder who blew by La Liga defenders to serve up assists on a silver platter. These are the kinds of players that Ronaldo thrives with. When those three played well together, they realized the natural order of the game: Di Maria and Ozil were meant to give the ball to Ronaldo, and Ronaldo was meant to score. To watch them counter-attack under the tutelage of Jose Mourinho was to watch sporting perfection, a team in complete understanding.
It is understandable, even admirable, then, that Cristiano would be angry at Real Madrid President Florentino Perez for dismantling that team. He has been quoted saying that he would have done things differently after Di Maria was sold, and his frustrations at losing Ozil are well documented. He loved the team he had around him, and to have it taken away from him was a slap in the face. It showed that Ronaldo was meant to share the throne in the eyes of Perez. He was not enough on his own.
Now? He has to slum it with Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez. These are undoubtedly better, more productive players, but the qualities that elevate them over the likes of Ozil and Di Maria also detract from what Ronaldo can bring to the table, both as a player and as an attraction. Gareth and James's goal scoring prowess quite simply means they are bigger stars then Ozil and Di Maria. Ronaldo now has to share the spotlight, which is as unnatural to him as sharing goals.
He feels the need to assert his alpha male position. A need that manifested itself in Ronaldo refusing to celebrate Sergio Ramos' game-saving equalizer in the last throes of the Champion's league final, but then celebrating his own subsequent (and meaningless) late penalty conversion like he had just scored the most important goal of his life. That final had to be about him, because more and more of Real Madrid isn't.
"I did it! I made it 4-1!" (Photo: @fudgie8 | Twitter)
Winning the Champion's League. Winning the Ballon d'Or. All that matters little to the man that needs to be The Man. Ronaldo accepts this need, accepts himself, and that is one of the reasons why people resent him. After a 1 - 0 win over Dynamo Zagreb in which his ankle was bloodied, Ronaldo complained that, “When I play, nobody protects me. Others, you can't touch them, but me, you can hit me with a stick” and blamed his treatment on the fact that people envy him because he is, “rich, handsome and a great player.”
While its debatable whether the officials treat him unfairly, Ronaldo is fouled a lot because he is so aggressive, and good, at attacking defenders. He is very rich. He is extremely handsome. He is right in everything that he says, but because it's him people ignore that. He has the cojones to say it and, because it's him, people find it infuriating.
That is the struggle of Cristiano Ronaldo. He is his own worst enemy. The life he as built for himself is as aesthetically perfect as the athletic body he lives it through. The supermodel girlfriend, the riches, the success, the fame, the golazos; he knows he is amazing. People hate him because he needs everyone else to realize he is amazing, too. They hate how he walks around like he owns the place after scoring, how he has the audacity to tell the rival crowd to calm down. He will never change, this is who he is.
He's Cristiano Ronaldo: so good it hurts.
