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Cristiano Ronaldo

“Love him or hate him, you just can’t ignore him”

There aren’t many general quotes that describe the enigma that is Cristiano Ronaldo better than the one above. Football fans almost divide themselves into two when he is in action, one supporting and cheering him on and the other one wishing he wasn’t born (including the flummoxed opposition). No doubt he has taken the world by storm and made an indelible mark on it as one of the most talented and technically sound players.

With 22 goals in La Liga this season, 34 in all domestic competitions, a staggering 69 goals in the previous calendar year and the Ballon d’Or under his belt, one can’t help wonder whether David Moyes is squirming in his seat and cursing his predecessor’s move of selling him to Real Madrid, a move more out of reluctance than for the want of selling. Sir Alex Ferguson has been of nothing but praise for the lad in present and past interviews. The following was a quote that he made in an interview in 2009.

“He is easily the best player in the world. He is better than Kaka and better than Messi. He is streets ahead of them all. His contribution as a goal threat is unbelievable. His stats are incredible. Strikes at goal, attempts on goal, raids into the penalty box, headers. It is all there. Absolutely astounding”

The interview may be old, but the sentiments never changed. A tete-e-tete with Fergie reflected the same, before the emotionally charged Champions League match between Manchester United and Real Madrid at Old Trafford where Fergie’s creation became responsible for his defeat after which “CR7” had expressed a desire to rejoin the Red Devils. But times have certainly changed; the club is now under the patronage of the epitome of mediocrity. But enough about David Moyes, let’s talk CR7!

Cristiano with the Ballon d’Or – A feat well deserved

If there is one thing that all agree upon with regard to Ronaldo’s behaviour is his arrogance; a trait which naturally occurs with exponential increases in popularity and talent. There are some people who despise him because of this. But as they say, only Gods understand the language of other Gods.

“There are some things Ronaldo can do with a football that make me touch my head and wonder how on earth he did it” – Luis Figo (Portugal and Real Madrid legend)

“There have been a few players described as the new George Best over the years, but this is the first time it’s been a compliment to me” – George Best (Former Manchester United Great)

For the moment, let’s concede to public fervor and admit that he is arrogant beyond compare. Even then, we can modify the sentence written before and say that only arrogance understands the language of arrogance. For example – let’s consider the scenario where we pit against each other one needlessly arrogant person and a justifiably arrogant one. Of course I’m referring to Zlatan Ibrahimovic – a self-proclaimed God and a necessity to the World Cup 2014 (a “fact” reiterated by him in numerous press conferences before the Sweden-Portugal WC qualifier match, a match in which he was left in the lurch).

Ibra hasn’t minced words while speaking of Ronaldo and that too in a chameleon-esque manner, changing before and after the match where his nemesis fired three salvos past the goalkeeper, albeit thanks to some fantastic assists.

FIFA World Cup qualifier – A fiery encounter that eventually went in Ronaldo’s favour

In more recent developments, he has now achieved the distinction of scoring in every minute of the match and is climbing the ladders of success with every passing minute. This calendar year has started on a positive note for the winger with 7 goals already scored for Los Galacticos and he doesn’t look like anything apart from a brick wall could stop him.

It comes as no surprise that Sepp Blatter and the gang finally got it right and gave him the ultimate footballing laurel that he richly deserved. But what the future has in store for CR7 is uncertain, as is the case for everything beneath the sun. But if things remain the way they are, a tournament treble win can be on the cards.