The ripper
When you walk through the streets of Lisbon, there is very little to remind you that football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Portugal.
The Fifa Footballer of the Year 2008 is no prophet in his own land. Many love him, of course, but many others ignore him, and quite a few hate the glamorous winger.
A marketing study showed that the Portuguese are more excited about the return of the Rock in Rio music festival — last held in Lisbon in 2008 — than about the arrival of the 2010 World Cup. And in a vote on Portugal’s sexiest sportsman, Ronaldo lost to athlete Nelson Evora.
The Real Madrid player has a clothing store in the Portuguese capital, CR7, but customers, news and publicity are scarce. “I came in out of curiosity, but I don’t like either Cristiano or his clothes, I wouldn’t buy them for my boyfriend,” says Joana, aged 22.
Only very few children are to be seen wearing the shirt of Manchester United or Real Madrid, where Ronaldo built his successful career, or even of the local club he emerged from, Sporting Lisbon. And yet there is talk of Cristiano, a lot of it.
“Arrogant,” “silly” and “childish” are some of the adjectives that are poured on the player who was born in Funchal, on the Portuguese Atlantic island of Madeira, on February 5, 1985.
However, those who were ever close to the star actually opt for praise. “When I saw him arrive at Sporting, at a really young age, I realised he would get to where he eventually got to. He was and he remains a major professional,” says former Sporting Lisbon keeper Nelson.
Ronaldo reached the first team at the green-and-white club in 2001, when he was barely 16, and he already showed the personality that irritates so many people today.
At just 18 he shone at Manchester United, and last summer he signed for Real Madrid for a record fee of 94 million euros ($132 million). Now, aged, 25, he earns 13 million euros (about $17.7 million) per year.
But this is not enough to spur the total admiration of colleagues.
“Ronaldo is a very good player, but he has things that people don’t like. His gestures, the noise he makes,” says Barcelona’s Brazilian right-back Dani Alves.
Indeed, many in Portugal do not just criticise Cristiano Ronaldo for his personality as a private citizen, but also for his attitude on the pitch.
In the qualifiers towards the 2010 World Cup, in which Portugal — the fourth-placed team in Germany 2006 — suffered more than expected, Ronaldo missed many matches due to injuries that left many of his compatriots doubtful. — DPA
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