Real Madrid striker and reigning European Player of The Year, Cristiano Ronaldo voiced his displeasure on Monday with his club’s moves this summer. As Real’s newest transfer, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez gets acclimated with his new country and new teammates, the team’s current superstar is speaking out. ESPNFC spoke to Ronaldo who wouldn’t outwardly say he was angry with the decision to bring in the Mexican super-sub, but in so many words that’s exactly what he said.
“I have my very clear opinion, but I must calculate and I cannot always say what I think because tomorrow I will be on the front of the papers and I do not want that… But if I was in charge, maybe I would not do things like that. Everyone has their opinion and is free to say what they think. If the president thinks that the best thing for the team is to sign these players and let go those who left then we have to respect and support his decision.” Ronaldo told the media.
Unfortunately for Ronaldo, saying this backfired and it landed him on the front page of papers regardless. If you read between the lines: “But if I was in charge, maybe I would not do things like that.” The Portuguese striker is very clearly insinuating he was not happy with Real Madrid’s President, Florentino Perez’s transfer moves this summer. It is unclear which decision upset Ronaldo the most, or if it’s a compilation of all of them, but evidently he was not supportive of them.
More than likely Ronaldo’s displeasure with Perez stems from the decision to send Argentina midfielder, Angel Di Maria to Manchester United. Earlier this month we reported that Ronaldo had asked Perez not to transfer Di Maria that he was crucial to the team and Ronaldo’s individual success. Perez sent Di Maria to Old Trafford anyways, needing to recoup much of the spending Los Blancos did this summer on World Cup stars James Rodriguez from Colombia, Toni Kroos from Germany and Keylor Navas from Costa Rica, all stars on teams that made the quarterfinals, or in the case of Kroos, hoisted the cup.
Real Madrid also transferred aging Spanish star Xabi Alonso to Bayern Munich, another favorite of Ronaldo. Although the Portuguese striker and underwear model did not directly say anything negative about Chicharito himself, it’s evident he feels that messing with the team chemistry of the current title holders of the UEFA Champions League could bring disastrous results.
“It will change. They are different players, it could change for the better or the worse. I hope it is for the better. [Rodriguez and Kroos] are very good players and should adapt well and help the team to be successful. Obviously Di Maria and Xabi are very important players, but we have others and we are happy with those who are here. I am sure that things will go well and the team will be at a very high level.” He continued saying to ESPNFC.
Personally, we feel Ronaldo needs to take a step back and give this newly constructed “super team” some time to gel and get familiar with one another. I know that Ronaldo’s record scoring year for goals last season was directly attributed to Di Maria, but Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez are arguably better at getting the ball to their forwards than Di Maria is. Rodriguez will become a future superstar for the team and the trio of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Ronaldo is arguably the best in the world. Now, with the luxury of bringing in Chicharito off the bench, or as a spot starter during injuries or suspensions the club is virtually unstoppable on offense.
When Ronaldo goes wide on the wings, he will easily be able to send crosses into the box and find Chicharito and James Rodriguez. Much like Ronaldo’s last second cross to Silvestre Varela, known as the “assist of death”, that shocked the United States in Manaus and equalized the game, Chicharito thrives on strikes like that and scores a majority of his goals on similar plays. It’s possible that Ronaldo’s goal scoring numbers might drop this season, but we believe both he and the team will be better in the long run for the moves made this summer. Only time will tell.
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