The Noise Surrounding Ronaldo Was Unfair – Roberto Martinez

Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez has heaped praise on Cristiano Ronaldo. He recently hailed CR7 for netting twice during a dominant 5-0 World Cup victory over Uzbekistan.

Describing his captain as an exemplary leader, Martinez highlighted that, in addition to the two goals scored, Ronaldo‘s attitude has been vital in keeping the group united.

Ignoring the endless comparisons to Lionel Messi, the manager added that the noise surrounding Cristiano and Portugal was very unfair.

His words, “It was a very difficult week, with unfair noise. We didn’t get the result we worked for [against DR Congo] and it created a difficult situation because there’s noise. Noise that was unfair, ‘fake news’, aspects that were malicious. After a result like that, it’s easy to make excuses, to look the other way, but our players focused and had an incredible attitude.

We showed anger, we were sick, but the result was growing as a team, improving a lot in managing emotions during the World Cup games, and being able to continue being who we are for 90 minutes. Cristiano was an exemplary captain, focused on what he could control and also used his experience. Today it wasn’t just the two goals scored, it was the number of opportunities, the positions, opening up space for teammates, having incredible discipline to be a reference in the attack pattern.

They are players who changed and improved football, and who needed their rivalry to constantly continue to grow. Regarding our captain, there is the aspect of being the icon, who is in his sixth World Cup, but then there is the captain of the national team. He is an example of what it represents to play for the national team. I’m very happy for him, he deserves this, but I already know he’s recovering and preparing for the next game. And it’s that simplicity that makes him unique.

He’s a player who, at his club, plays everything. It was a season with many minutes, but he’s fresh, and we manage it game by game, training by training, evaluating everything that happens. Today his position on the field was a problem for Uzbekistan, the defensive line switched positions… It was a real problem and, when that happens, we need to use him.”

WOW.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Saudi Pro League club, Al Nassr and the Portugal national team.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on 5 February 1985 in the São Pedro parish of Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira, and grew up in the nearby parish of Santo António. He is the fourth and youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Viveiros da Aveiro, who worked as a cook in the hospitality industry and a cleaning woman, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener at the Junta de Freguesia of Santo António and part-time kit man for football club Andorinha.

Ronaldo’s move to Manchester United was completed on 12 August 2003, too late for the 2003 FA Community Shield but in time for their game against Bolton Wanderers on the opening day of the 2003–04 season, and made him the first Portuguese player to sign for the club.

Ahead of the 2009–10 season, Ronaldo joined Real Madrid for a world record transfer fee at the time of £80 million (€94 million). His contract, which ran until 2015, was worth €11 million per year and contained a €1 billion buy-out clause.