[RockStrongo]

There, I've said it.

I regard him as a distillation of all the worst aspects of modern football. He is supremely talented yet is smug, self regarding and theatrical.
On the pitch I feel he could do so much more but instead takes every opportunity to throw himself to the floor and throw his arms wide in mock exasperation and the referees refusal to give him a foul.

And judging by that Suzuki ad, he's an even worse actor than Eric Cantona.

And that Ladbrokes ad gets up my nose as well. Bunch of lazy overpaid ex footballers who've never done a days work in their lives playing dressing up and pretending to be people who actually have to work for a living. And aren't they just having a great time standing around laughing as if that's what real work is about. Not actually hard or badly paid or anything. God they make me sick. I hope Ladbrokes go out of business.

Ah, that feels better now. Anyone agree with me? I may even set up my own political party.

[dowzer]

Rockstrongo for Prime Ministerrrrrrrr............................


My vote is guaranteed!!

[IAN P]

I agree,this moron is a cheat and a arrogant piece of crap,i really hope that Man U keep to their promise of playing him in the reserves until his contract expires.He's clearly gonna do a bunk to the Spanish team.£200,000 a week,you've gotta be ****ing kiddin' me

[RockStrongo]

Wow, I was expecting a load of abuse. This is excellent.

Right, which one of you two wants to be chancellor and the other can choose between foreign secretary and home secretary. Until Christmas maybe when I have a reshuffle then you can just swap.

[mason]

yeah i agree- he could be so much better than he is, yet he wants to be the team poser... on and off the park

he needs to cut out the prancing about and play football... he could be a legend but he has to play harder and work harder

[Kieron]

The issue with Ronaldo is that he isn't British and hasn't come through the ranks at one team. He has no loyalty to this country or this team - unlike for example Ryan Giggs (yes I know he's Welsh but you get the idea) or Paul Scholes.

Just look at his glee in getting Rooney sent off at the WC.

He's like most footballers - a mercenary.

A shame, as most of the older supporters, and Alex Ferguson himself, treat him like a Son....

[RMCF]

Another for the party here

I think he is a very gifted footballer, but like others just think that he is the classic example of the modern (footballer) mercenary.

He has been treated like a God at OT, yet he is prepared to play them off against Madrid so that he can get more money, even thought he agreed a £120k per week contract only last year afaik. He was happy to sign it then yet now its not good enough.

As a Madrid fan I am not overly excited about him arriving, be it this summer, next or in a few years time. I think that 1 player doesn't make a team, and football is really a team game. I would much rather see Madrid buy 4 or 5 top players at £20million each than buy him. But football is slowing dying a death and its all about marketing now, and he would make Madrid a fortune, so will probably be signed.

He really gets on my nerves with that stance at freekicks, the constant turning to the cameras with his hands on his head every time he has a shot at goal (even if its awful), and now the constant looking up at himself on the big screens !! Pls Madrid, don't do it

[Miyazaki]

Mercenary bastard. Too many of them in football.

Sir Alex should put him in the stands. No excuse for his behaviour, he should be put in his place.

[y2k]

Great footballer with loads of confidence and talent but Judas had more morals. He does not dive as much when he plays for Man United these days but seems to do it a lot more when playing for his country, mabey thats what the Portugal manager wants.

[dowzer]

Originally Posted by RockStrongo

Wow, I was expecting a load of abuse. This is excellent.

Right, which one of you two wants to be chancellor and the other can choose between foreign secretary and home secretary. Until Christmas maybe when I have a reshuffle then you can just swap.

I will be Chancellor and my first decision is a MAXIMUM WAGE for poncey footballers!!!!! Hmmmmmm - let's say 50k a week and all other governments will fall into line with us as well!

[Marc]

well you're entitled to your opinion but i don't think he's as bad as all that. When he throws himself to the floor, there's contact in 90% of instances and then he's within his rights to do it, when contact at that speed is going to knock him off his stride in any case, why not have the free kick instead? He's a far cry from Drogba who goes down like he's been shot when no one's even touched him.

And about being cocky and arrogant, if i was the best footballer in the world i'd probably be cocky as well.. i'm just hoping he'll stay at United and this Madrid stuff is just his way of getting a pay rise, or he's just milking the whole thing because his sponsors like his name being mentioned because it means their name's getting mentioned as well. Ideally i'd like it if he was courting Madrid only to say no at the last minute and leave them with a lack of new signings for next season

of course i reserve the right to change my opinion of him entirely if he leaves

[Marc]

Originally Posted by y2k

Great footballer with loads of confidence and talent but Judas had more morals. He does not dive as much when he plays for Man United these days but seems to do it a lot more when playing for his country, mabey thats what the Portugal manager wants.

yes that is what scolari wants. He's openly admitted he tells his players to cheat whenever possible, do anything for the win. He tells his players to all go out and foul another player so let's all look forward to Chelsea to become even more hated next season..

[loz_the_guru]

sorry im gonna object to this thread. i can see why its easy to get wound up by ronny but whenever theres a postmatch interview he never focuses on himself and is quick to praise a team effort.

as for the madrid situation, have you ever considered he hasnt said one way or the other because he hasnt made his own mind up? Hes never ever said he definitely wanted to stay at man utd, and has always admitted he'd like to play for madrid one day. im sure its not all money motivated - madrid was the 'big club' when he was growing up and naturally he wants to play for them. if hd said he was staying at man utd then decided to leave hed be criticised no end in the press, at least hes being honest saying he doesnt know where he'll end up.

as someone earlier said he has no affinity to utd, so regardless of how the supporters treat him why shouldnt he go elsewhere?

[Abbeygoo]

Originally Posted by Marc

well you're entitled to your opinion but i don't think he's as bad as all that. When he throws himself to the floor, there's contact in 90% of instances and then he's within his rights to do it, when contact at that speed is going to knock him off his stride in any case, why not have the free kick instead?

I disagree with that Marc. Football is a contact sport therefore you are allowed to touch people without them being given a free kick.

It always makes me smile when I hear "there was contact" when that has nothing to do with it. You are allowed to make contact with other footballers on the pitch be it holding them off, attempting tackles etc. It's not basketball and Ronaldo does spoil his wonderful performances on the pitch by throwing himself down at every opportunity.

Look at Portugal's first goal yesterday. He was tackled by the goal keeper and flew through the air with the greatest of ease .... until Deco scored and he jumped for joy.

Agree entirely what you said about Drogba and they aren't the only two.

[Wild Weasel]

He's developing a mullet.

That alone is reason to dislike him.

[fcz]

lets throw a few english names into the hat here.........

gerard! has easily got to be in the top 3 divers in the league. handed in a transfer request not so long ago and was very close to signin for chelsea from his beloved childhood supported liverpool!! was this move gonna be for a bigger pay packet? it certainly got him his payrise!

joe cole! a sneakily dirty player who also dives at the first chance he gets! and if things don't go his way he's the first to complain to the ref!! but forgets all that when he puts in a bad tackle himself! you lot on here probably remember a few dirty ones he put on ronaldo! (and probably cheered too!! cause thats how we deal with a skillful player!!!! kick him!!)

ashley cole!! don't need to say much here cause if you can't see how much of a prat he is then your daft!! his moaning/abuse to the ref is probably some of the worst i've seen! and its not just once every few games, its a few times a match!!!


diving is now a huge part of the modern game which is not gonna go away. the english players are starting to catch on that sometimes diving pays!!! don't like to go on about him but i seem to remember gerard against either portsmouth or sheff united winning a penalty with a blatant dive!! but that was alright cause he's not a 'cheating foreigner!!'

if you watched the holland v italy match the other night then the prime example was when van nistlerooy was challenged by the keeper when one on one with him. minimal contact but from where the ref was standing a dive would've meant a certain penalty! dilema...... stay up and be forced to wide to score or dive and win a penalty, you decide!! Ruud stayed up and holland didn't score on that occassion!!

i'm probably goin slightly off topic here so apologies but the point is by all means hate ronaldo but don't be fooled into thinking he is the only player in the premiership who is like you say he is!!

if he was english he would of course by a national hero!! no doubt about that, the media would ensure it! but he's not so thats another massive reason to eggagerate what he does and hate him even more!!!

[Kazuya Mishima]

Great thread and ^ good post.

Gerrard is a diving scumbag, one of the worst I've seen, never seens to get picked up on it.....pundits/experts refer to this tactic as 'cute' or 'clever', little Michael Owen was doing it for years, too....

[gosties]

On the subject Of Cristiano Ronaldo :-

1) This season I don't believe their is another serious contender for World/European Player of the year

2) Wonderfully talented but is still overly prone to simulation. Easily as bad Drogba in my opinion.

3) Arrogant, Conceited (Possibly) and in danger of believing the hype surrounding him.

4) I would still at this stage of his career put him behind his namesake "Ronaldo", before his knee and dietary problems he was phenomenal. Brazilian Ronaldo at 18-19 was incredible and without injuries would IMO possibly been mentioned in the same breath as Pele/Maradona/Cruyff.

5) Messi & Kaka are at the same level but have had injuries over the last 12 months.

6) When English players dive it's " anticipating a foul" but when a foreigner does it "a blatant dive". Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard & J.Cole particularly suffer from balance disorders.

Wayne Rooney gets away with considerable amounts of dissent at Utd towards officials.

[JohnG]

I agree as well, he's a very good player but a total - he would have got short change from Cloughie, I tell you that ! If I were United I would accept 75 million or above and get rid of him if he's not committed to the cause.

[RMCF]

The hype around him is particularly annoying at the minute.

The commentators continue to act as if the sun shines out of you know where. They seem incapable of saying he has had a bad or average game. But perhaps thats just modern football for you, where the words 'ace', 'star', 'fantastic', 'brilliant' etc are bandied around far too easily.

Take Portugal's first match v Turkey. I have been watching football for a long long time and I would have described his performance that night, against not the strongest team around, as a 5/10.

I spoke to many friends and work colleagues who agreed. But the commentators said he 'had an excellent game' and the press the next day said that he 'inspired the win' etc.

Some people in work (those I like to call the Sky Generation) came in and said he was brilliant or fantastic. I asked them to explain exactly what he did that was so good and they struggled.

One thing really stood out at the time and it was a freekick he hit from the left hand side of the box. It went bounced before the keeper and he pushed it round the post if I remember correctly. Now for some reason the keeper had moved over behind his wall just as Ronnie was approaching the ball. Why he would do this baffled me as his wall is meant to protect that side of the net. IF it had gone over and into the net then it fair play to Ronnie and the keepers off the hook. But he came back in time to push it round. It was a very comfortable save for any top keeper. What did the TV commentator say "the keeper stopped Ronaldo scoring what would have been one of the goals of the tournament" - overkill if ever I heard it. But you sort of get used to that sort of hyperbole in the modern TV era.

Now don't get me wrong, I realise and will admit that he is in the Top 1 or 2 players in the world. Probably no. 1 this season. But the love-in with him is OTT at times. Its ok to say that he had an average or bad game. Even Maradona and Pele had bad games.

As for the Sky Generation, I would love to show them some of the footage I have of Platini, Zico, Hugo Sanchez, Hagi, Pele, Maradona, Socrates, Neeskens, Van Basten, Muller etc to show them what brilliant really is.

[SuperKip]

Originally Posted by Kazuya Mishima

Great thread and ^ good post.

Gerrard is a diving scumbag, one of the worst I've seen, never seens to get picked up on it.....pundits/experts refer to this tactic as 'cute' or 'clever', little Michael Owen was doing it for years, too....

No doubt a Man U fan here then!

This is a Ronaldo thread because everyone dislikes Ronaldo, feel free to comment on Ronaldo

By the way, Fantastic player but a complete ******. And i'm not saying that because i'm a Liverpool fan. I remember when Beckham was the team star, I really respected him and secretley wished we had him. And Rooney, he's great aswell but I just can't take to Ronaldo.

[RockStrongo]

Well a healthy debate going here then.

So if you'll all just forward me your party subs (say a grand each) I'll sort out some seats for everyone to stand in.

Oh, and I'm a stickler for party unity, so here's the official line you may quote to the media - There are alot of diving, cheating conniving dishonest footballers out there. Ronaldo is the perfect example of everything that's wrong about football - as if someone had stuffed all the Gerrards Coles Drogbas et al into a jar and distilled them until what dripped out was pure but amoral footballing talent.

[OldAndSenile]

I'm not a huge fan of the guy, but in his defence...

Yes, he dives a lot, and wins his team free kicks & penalties in the process. If the FA wanted this to stop, they'd act retrospectively and ban him and everyone else who did it. The FA obviously don't care, as they've never banned anyone for it. He can get away with it, and his team gain an advantage because of it - surely that's just being smart?

Not very sportsmanlike, I'd agree, but I guarantee 100% that Fergie doesn't reprimand him for it behind closed doors when he wins the team a penalty, just as none of us would if Owen or Gerrard did it in a World Cup Final and won the match for us.

With regards the money, and his transfer demands: Who should get the money his talent brings in to the club? He gets a fraction of what the club makes in ticket sales, international shirt and image sales and prize money. Real Madrid have obviously worked out that they can pay him all that cash and he'll still be making them a profit on image rights, etc, so why don't United put their money where their mouths are and offer to match Real's pay offer - that way we'll see if he's after the cash or whether he genuinely wants to go to the club for the prestige.

Christiano has been at the club for 5 years - longer than any English player has played on the continent for as long as I can remember - and won pretty much everything. Isn't he entitled to decide where he earns his living?

If you want a real money-grabbing example of the modern footballer, look no further than Nicolas Anelka - have you ever seen him look like he's playing for the club and not himself?

[fcz]

Originally Posted by RockStrongo

Ronaldo is the perfect example of everything that's wrong about football - as if someone had stuffed all the Gerrards Coles Drogbas et al into a jar and distilled them until what dripped out was pure but amoral footballing talent.

you haven't summed that up at all well mate!!! he's not as bad as you make out. you are clearly an abu!! dorgbas alot worse. gerard handed in a transfer request the week after kissing his badge to get a better deal (ronaldo hasn't put a request in!! he may do but as of yet hasn't!!)

pure amoral footballing talent is a bit of a ridiculous thing to say!!!! winston bogarde ( a champs league winner with ajax, and a good defender on his day!!) was not been picked at chelsea so for the rest of his contract sat in the reserves and didn't even make the bench! just picked up his extremely large pay packet!! this to me is amoral!! not someone who gives 100% in every game and has a say n deciding if his team wins the game or not!!!

imo a player with 6 months left on his contract who agrees a summer move to another club on a free is also slightly amoral. ie mcmanaman. didn't really give his full effort before he left for the brights lights of madrid!!

i think ronaldo (in the footballing sense!) is everything that is great about the modern game!!

quick
strong
athletic
two footed
great header of a ball
powerful shot with either foot
can take freekicks
good passer
wants to win

to be hionest i think any young kid playing today should aspire to be as good as him!!!

so my friend i'm gonna have to strongly disagree with you and say that he's everything thats right about football.


its too bad that football supporters in this country can't appreciate good football and good footballers that don't play for their chosen club!!! take the blinkers off lads!!!

[Safe101]

You are all just jealous hes such a talented player hes extraodinary.

[mjn]

Originally Posted by Kieron

He's like most footballers - a mercenary.

Hold on a second........say you earn £23k with your desk based job, you get offered another job with a different company, same role, but paying £30k.....are telling me that majority of the population would say no to this?

I seriously doubt it.

[RMCF]

Yeah but the problem is he signed a contract recently with Man Utd for £120k per week and was happy to sign that.

This is why so many of us are unhappy with the modern footballer.

If he sat down last year and agreeed a 4 year deal with a team for £120k per week, then he can't start to renegotiate it after 6months because someone else has told him he can get £150k per week.

If we allow this to happen then contracts are worth nothing. Everything is in the players favour, and the game is now totally controlled by the players. They have all the power and they know it. They know that they won't be put on the bench or the reserves as they are too valuable.

The change of attitude of SAF shows this. A decade ago he would not have stood for this nonsense and would have chased Ronaldo and just replaced him. But now he can't as he is so valuable as an asset.

[overkill]

Originally Posted by RMCF

Yeah but the problem is he signed a contract recently with Man Utd for £120k per week and was happy to sign that.

This is why so many of us are unhappy with the modern footballer.

If he sat down last year and agreeed a 4 year deal with a team for £120k per week, then he can't start to renegotiate it after 6months because someone else has told him he can get £150k per week.

If we allow this to happen then contracts are worth nothing. Everything is in the players favour, and the game is now totally controlled by the players. They have all the power and they know it. They know that they won't be put on the bench or the reserves as they are too valuable.

The change of attitude of SAF shows this. A decade ago he would not have stood for this nonsense and would have chased Ronaldo and just replaced him. But now he can't as he is so valuable as an asset.

Exactly. Great post RMCF.

The whole problem stems from the 60's when the maximum wage was scrapped. That not only affected our own wage structure but wages all over Europe. Rather bizarrely (and according to a good Italian football writer) the max wage in England was being used a 'benchmark' and while you could earn more by going abroad, as many found, it wasn't as much as the max wage plus 'erm 'perks', that you could earn back home. Hence, he claims many of those who tried foreign football soon came back.

After the max wage was scrapped it gave the players the room to start dictating to their clubs what they wanted, and if they didn't get it, well, there was always a bigger payer elsewhere. Add in the dreaded agents, the utterly moronic (and nigh on fateful) Bosmann ruling, plus TV money and we have a heady brew that's handed the nap hand to a bunch of greedy under talented tarts.

Agree totally with the OP. Ronaldo is a menace. He may be worse with Portugal, or is it just that we don't hear a bunch of sycophants constantly making excuses for him as we do when he's wearing a Utd shirt?

[J-Llo]

He's the best footballer in the world but he is a ****!

[RMCF]

Yet another example of the ITV love-in with CR in the 1st half of Italy v Romania.

In a game that he had ZERO bearing on, he still gets a mention.

Del Piero hit a free over and wide and Pleat says "will have to start watching Ronaldo more".

Its getting sickening.