Cristiano Ronaldo nearly quit football due to bullying from teammates at Sporting, reason for mocking explained

Cristiano Ronaldo has etched his name as a football legend and is arguably one of the best players of all time. However, history could have taken a different course as the five-time Ballon d'Or winner reportedly nearly quit football when he was a young player in the Sporting CP Academy due to being bullied by his teammates.

The 38-year-old was born and raised in the Sao Pedro parish of Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira. As a result, he had a distinct Madeiran accent. Unbeknownst to Cristiano Ronaldo, this would lead to years of bullying down the line in his youth career.

The Portugal icon moved away from home to play for the Sporting CP Academy, where he plied his trade between 1997 and 2002. While his journey to stardom had begun, so did his struggles. This was revealed in the book Messi vs Ronaldo: One Rivalry, Two GOATs, and the Era That Remade the World’s Game (via The Sun).

The book conveyed that Cristiano Ronaldo was mocked by the other boys due to his Madeiran accent. He also cried every day due to him missing his family and friends. Furthermore, Ronaldo was also involved in numerous physical confrontations as he was unable to keep his emotions in check.

All these factors nearly led to Ronaldo prematurely calling time on his football career. Fortunately, he was later allowed to quit school and focus solely on elevating his game on the pitch.

Cristiano Ronaldo's impressive performances led to him being called up to the senior team. Eventually, he made the switch to Manchester United in 2003 as an 18-year-old, which would kickstart one of the best careers in football history.

---

Cristiano Ronaldo recently scored impressive hat-trick to kickstart Al-Nassr's season

Cristiano Ronaldo recently rolled back the years by scoring a stellar hat-trick and provided one assist as Al-Nassr defeated Al-Fateh 5-0 in Saudi Pro League.

Despite winning the Arab Club Champions Cup trophy in pre-season, Al-Nassr had a disappointing start to their 2023-24 Saudi Pro League campaign. They lost their opening two games, losing to Al-Ettifaq (2-1) and Al-Taawoun (2-0), with Ronaldo missing the first game due to a knock.

However, the Knights of Najd returned to form, dispatching Al-Fateh. Ronaldo set up Sadio Mane to open the scoring in the 27th minute, before plundering a hat-trick to seal all three points.

Al-Nassr are currently 10th in the standings with three points. They next face Al-Shabab at home on August 29.