"His body language betrays the verbal content" - Expert claims Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't believe he's the greatest player of all time despite claims

Body language expert Darren Stanton reckons Cristiano Ronaldo's body language insinuates the five-time Ballon d'Or winner doesn't believe he is the greatest player of all time. His comments arrive after the Portuguese superstar recently claimed he was the GOAT, over the likes of Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, and Pele.

Ronaldo sat down with his friend Edu Aguirre for an exclusive interview, in which he confidently commented on which attributes made him the best player in the world. He said (via Fabrizio Romano):

“I believe I am the 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, no one was better. The numbers say that, I’m the most complete football player that has ever existed. People could like Messi or Maradona, Pele… and I respect it yes, but I’m the most complete and the numbers are saying that."

He added:

“I haven’t seen anyone better than me in football history and I’m saying truth from my heart. I’m fast, I’m strong, I score with my header or with the left, no one has ever been more complete than me. I’m the best player in history. I really believe that."

However, Stanton, who is a human lie detector as well as a body language expert, reckons Cristiano Ronaldo was very angry during the interview. He told OLBG (via GOAL):

“Ronaldo is really mixed up. We see a mixture of anger — he is a very angry guy in this moment. I think he doesn’t seem to feel he is getting the respect he’s due. We see what we call a horseshoe smile, which lasts for less than a fifth of a second, which is an expression of anger."

"That is the reverse of a happy smile. His eyebrows are pulled together and his eyes are squinting. I don’t think he thinks he’s being held up by others to the legendary status he thinks he deserves but the irony is that he looks like a person who actually does lack confidence in himself in certain areas."

He also commented on Ronaldo's claims of being greater than Messi and the late Pele and Maradona:

“His body language betrays the verbal content of what he’s saying. I don’t believe that he believes he is the greatest player. I think it’s all front. We see that increase in blink rate which is linked to anxiety, the shoulder shrug, the horseshoe smile, and he’s not actually a very good person at masking his emotions."

He continued:

"He’s a guy that cannot help but wear his heart on his sleeve, regardless of what he’s trying to say with the words out of his mouth. It may all come down to insecurities in certain aspects of his personality and character and how he perceives how he is perceived.”

Despite being in the twilight years of his career at the age of 39, Cristiano Ronaldo is going strong for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr. He is contracted with the club until the end of the season.

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Cristiano Ronaldo shines for Al-Nassr in 4-0 win over Al-Wasl

Cristiano Ronaldo was named the Player of the Match after scoring a brilliant brace for Al-Nassr in their dominant 4-0 win over Al-Wasl. The two sides faced each other in the AFC Champions League at Al-Awwal Park (Monday, February 3).

Ali Al-Hassan broke the deadlock in the 25th minute with an excellent shot into the bottom left corner from outside the box. Cristiano Ronaldo then doubled their lead in the 44th minute after converting his penalty. The 39-year-old headed home following the break (78') before Mohammed Al-Fatil netted in the 88th minute to seal all three points.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr are third in the AFC Champions League Elite West standings with 16 points from seven games, three points behind Al-Ahli. They next face Al-Feiha in the Saudi Pro League (February 7).