MADRID: Every player needs to fulfill their goals, have a sense of worth and to feel on top of the world from time to time, however with Cristiano Ronaldo he is accustomed to the extreme end of these emotions, which he is currently being deprived of.
History so often informs us of what the future may hold, and this can be the same for the Portuguese winger. Look back only as far as 2016 and he was seen to be the leader of all men. His Real Madrid had won the Champions League, he lifted the European Championship trophy with Portugal, and he won the Ballon D’or for the fourth time as life could not get any better for the forward.
Furthermore, his numbers were starting to outstretch everything football had ever seen. Ronaldo did not feel inferior to anyone and he was fighting to be the best he could possibly be. And yet, the striker has seen in recent months the signing of Neymar for Paris Saint-Germain and the bumper salary boost awarded to Lionel Messi that left the Madrid star behind both in terms of their pay packets.
Although, he can take great heart from leading the way on the advertising and sponsorship front. Amidst all this, reports by El Chiringuito have again added to the momentum that Ronaldo is unsettled at Madrid, with the former Manchester United player also irked by his 20 million euro tax case.
Above all, to add to his running list of problems, Ronaldo continues to suffer from a goal drought, having not scored in his last three LaLiga matches. Ronaldo signed a contract keeping him at Los Blancos until 2021 a year ago but their star man is said to be wanting a move away from the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in the hope of finding a new challenge.
On this matter, the club doesn’t truly fear rude awakenings, with all eyes set on Saturday’s must win derby against Atleti. At Real Madrid, there is nothing but calm. There is no such crisis for Ronaldo. In fact the only worry they seem to adhere to is the concern about him gaining full fitness to feature in the Madrid derby this Saturday.
Head coach Zinedine Zidane sees his side eight points off league leaders Barcelona and could risk going further behind if they fail to overcome rivals Atletico Madrid.