Five times Ronaldo has sulked after criticism: Ballon D’or, Atletico…

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Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players of all time, and is a legend of the game, but he can also be a massive crybaby.

The 36-year-old recently blocked TransferMarkt on social media after taking offense at their valuation of his ability – and it isn’t the first time Ronaldo has seemed a tad precious.

Criticism can be aimed at anyone, no matter how good you are or how much you’ve accomplished, and responding to this criticism is a good way of seeing the mindset of players.

Some respond with silence and let their performances do the talking. Others speak out, but then deliver on the pitch, while some throw a massive strop.

Ronaldo has both responded on the pitch and thrown a tantrum in his long and glittering career, and we’ve picked out the best incidents where he had a moan after being criticised.

Fight with France Football

Pascal Ferre of France Football claimed “Ronaldo has only one ambition and that is to retire with more Ballon d’Or [awards] than Messi. I know because he has told me,” in November 2021, shortly before Lionel Messi won his seventh award.

Ronaldo used his Instagram page to launch a response to Ferre, stating that “Pascal Ferré lied and used my name to promote himself and to promote the publication that he works for.

“It’s unacceptable for the person responsible for handing out such a prestigious award to lie in this way and to show disrespect to someone who has always respected France Football and the Ballon d’Or.

“My biggest ambition in my career is to win trophies at club and international level, for the clubs that I play for and my national team. My biggest ambition in my career is to set a good example for everyone who is or wants to be a professional footballer.

“My biggest ambition in my career is to have my name written in gold in world football history.”

Not bitter at all…

Microphone Madness

Euro 2016 was an interesting tournament for Portugal, who somehow won it despite hardly winning any games.

Before their 3-3 group stage draw with Hungary, Ronaldo was asked a question by Portuguese reporter Diogo Torres about whether he was ready for their next game, and the superstar responded in shock fashion.

Ronaldo grabbed the microphone out of the hands of Torres and launched it into a nearby lake before walking away.

The Portuguese TV station were furious and demanded an apology, but Ronaldo apologized on the pitch by scoring twice in the 3-3 draw.

The microphone is probably still at the bottom of the lake…

Cristiano Ronaldo throws reporters microphone into a lake. 😅 pic.twitter.com/WYwRSvPFyT

— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) June 22, 2016

Refusal to celebrate

Ronaldo was arguably at his peak in 2012, yet he found himself at the center of criticism from Real Madrid fans who accused him of being too selfish on the pitch.

In a 5-1 win over Granada at the Santiago Bernabeu, Ronaldo responded to this fan pressure with a sulk, scoring the fifth goal, but refusing to celebrate with the fans, instead choosing to bow his head and returning to the pitch.

A player who has an iconic celebration refusing to celebrate shows that something was indeed wrong, and the Spanish media were quick to pick up on it.

Marca in Madrid wrote after the game that “since the game against Barca (a 3-1 loss), a significant section of the stadium has been complaining about Ronaldo’s performances and he doesn’t like it.”

“If Cristiano doesn’t like the way the fans are expressing themselves, the worst thing he can do is show it in the celebration of a goal.”

And that’s exactly what he did, with a notable lack of a “siu” after his goal. It all worked out in the end though…

“Five Times”

Ronaldo and Atletico Madrid have hated each other for an eternity, with the hatred peaking during Ronaldo’s time at Real Madrid, where he knocked them out of the Champions League multiple times.

Atletico were relieved when Ronaldo moved to Juventus in 2018, but this was cut short when they were drawn against Ronaldo in the last-16.

Diego Simeone’s side won the first leg 2-0, and walking out of the stadium an angry Ronaldo was greeted by Atletico fans and media celebrating their result.

Ronaldo simply couldn’t contain himself, telling those waiting outside “I’ve won five Champions Leagues, you guys have won zero. See you in the second leg.”

He ultimately had the last laugh though, by scoring a hattrick in the second leg to progress through to the next round. A much better way to respond.

Ronaldo mocks Atletico Madrid after Juve defeat.

“I’ve won FIVE champions leagues and these guys ZERO”

You stay classy @Cristiano pic.twitter.com/qOK3N19KMA

— The Kick Off (@thekickofftg) February 21, 2019

Rangnick’s substitution

In Manchester United’s 3-1 win away at Brentford, Ronaldo didn’t have his best performance, but with the team 2-0 up he had no reason to moan.

That was until he was substituted for Harry Maguire, and reacted angrily as he trudged off the pitch.

United would score less than 10 minutes later through Marcus Rashford to secure a comfortable win, but Ronaldo’s tantrum after being withdrawn became one of the main headlines after the game.

Having been undroppable for most of his career, the 36-year-old still expects to play every minute of every game, despite United possessing some top quality youngsters in his position, but he nevertheless displayed his anger towards Ralf Rangnick and the United bench.

Speaking after the game, the United interim boss stated that he made the decisions in the “interest of the club.”

“He asked: ‘Why me, why have you taken me off?’” the German boss said. “I told him: ‘I have to make decisions in the interests of the team and club.

“We had the same situation at Aston Villa when we were 2-0 up in the second half and I didn’t want to make the same mistake (drawing 2-2).”

Sulking after a loss is one thing, moaning about extra rest in a comfortable win is just…weird.

Cristiano Ronaldo was absolute fuming when he was substituted by Ralf Rangnick at Brentford last night…😡 pic.twitter.com/6dzqgum1uR

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 20, 2022

By Rahul Lakhani

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