5 times Cristiano Ronaldo let Real Madrid down in 2017

#2 El Clasico in August

Ronaldo earned himself an additional 4 match ban for pushing the referee

In the first leg of Spanish Super Cup 2017, the scores were level at 1-1 when Ronaldo came on from the bench and curled a stunner past Marc-Andre ter Stegen to give Real Madrid the lead. Real would go on to win the match 1-3; but despite his match-winning contribution, Ronaldo ended the night as the villain.

In the 82nd minute, the referee penalized Ronaldo with a yellow card for diving. Having taken off his shirt while celebrating his goal a minute ago, this meant Ronaldo was sent off. The decision was really harsh, yet the subsequent damage would have been minimal – that is, before Ronaldo pushed the referee in frustration and earned himself an additional 4 match ban.

Ronaldo missed Real Madrid’s opening 4 La Liga Matches. In his absence, Real Madrid were held to costly draws at home against Valencia and Levante. Their season got off to a shaky start – and in hindsight, one feels they never quite recovered from it.