“It annoys the hell out of me to see commentators diss him” - When Farhan Akhtar offered staunch defense of Cristiano Ronaldo

In December 2022, Indian filmmaker Farhan Akhtar jumped to Cristiano Ronaldo's defense after the Portuguese icon became a subject of scrutiny in the wake of his country's elimination from the FIFA World Cup. The filmmaker said it annoys him when people harshly criticize the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

Ronaldo endured a turbulent outing in his most recent appearance in the World Cup in 2022. The 39-year-old was clearly below his normal standards in Qatar. He scored just one goal in five games and couldn't help his team avoid a quarter-final exit at the hands of Morocco, who beat them 1-0.

In the wake of that setback, fingers were pointed at the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. However, he soon got support from various notable figures, including Farhan Akhtar.

The Indian filmmaker penned an appreciation post for the Portuguese icon on social media to defend him from critics.

"This is a @cristiano Ronaldo appreciation post. This guy has given his life to the game, set standards of skill, athleticism and fitness that most sportspeople can only fantasise about. It’s so easy to tear someone down in a moment when they stop behaving like robots and display human emotion," Akhtar wrote on Instagram.

"It’s so easy to forget how fortunate we’ve been to witness him take the beautiful game to a whole other level through sheer commitment, hard work and improvement through self analysis," he added.

Akhtar went on to express how it annoys him to see commentators dissing the Al Nassr superstar.

"It annoys the hell out of me to see commentators diss him and speak of him as a has-been. Not one of them could last a day in his shoes. I don’t know the guy but I know that watching him play made me happy. Even when he played against teams I supported. I hope he knows what he means to the millions of people who feel the same way I do. (black heart emojis)," Farhan Akhtar wrote.

It goes without mentioning that World Cup is still missing in Cristiano Ronaldo's cabinet. The next edition will come up in 2026 but it's unclear whether the legendary attacker would be able to participate as he would have turned 41 by then.

What's next for Cristiano Ronaldo?

Cristiano Ronaldo marked his return to action this season with a brilliant strike for Al Nassr in their 2-0 victory over Al Taawoun in the Saudi Super Cup semifinals on August 14. However, disappointment soon followed as his side were beaten 4-1 by Al Hilal in the final on August 17.

Looking forward, the 39-year-old will be hoping to put the setback behind him and help the team return to winning ways when they take on Al Raed in the Saudi Pro League on Thursday (August 22).

Following that, they'll take on the likes of Al Feiha, Al-Ahli Saudi, and Al Ettifaq in their next three league games before their King's Cup of Champions round-of-16 clash with Al-Hazem on September 23. It remains to be seen how Ronaldo will perform in those games.