As 2015 comes to a close, rumors abound that this will be Ronaldo's last season in Madrid. Portugal's main man has stayed busy, releasing his biopic in November, and scoring a record 11 goals in the Champions League group stage. But as Real Madrid's league form worsens, and Rafael Benitez comes under further scrutiny, one has to wonder how much longer the club's record goalscorer can carry his team?
In this short editorial, Seleção correspondent Nathan Motz offers a brutally honest perspective on how the actions of Real Madrid Football Club have reflected on Ronaldo, and why that means he should consider outside offers to leave the club at the end of the season.
As I start this piece, I have the overwhelming feeling that I could have written it much, much sooner. By that I mean that my perspective on this subject has not changed all that much over the years. In truth, I am not sure exactly what made me finally decide to “put pen to paper” and discuss Ronaldo’s club predicament as I am about to do. Part of it is the reality that Ronaldo, even while scoring 21 goals in all competitions so far this term, is in some of the worst form of his career. I will pause here to recognize that this statement only proclaims just how good Ronaldo has been for Real Madrid since his arrival in 2009. As much as the press might lead you to believe, nobody scores 334 goals in 6 ½ seasons by accident. But that is not the only reason I feel compelled to write.
The great Spanish charade
The preposterous footballing enterprise otherwise known as Real Madrid CF has simply gone too far, promised too much, done too little, and all with the theatrical flair of an organization that knows no shame. Season after season, manager after manager, Madrid’s profligate abuse of footballing talent goes on like a merry circus destined to fail at securing that which so much money has been invested in: championship trophies. That’s what it is, truly, a circus. A farce of a club ran by an egomaniacal tyrant that apparently cannot see his own face in the mirror.
Harsh words perhaps, but what do they have to do with Cristiano? Looking back on Ronaldo’s time in the Spanish capital, I think it is more than fair to say that he would have wanted more in terms of team awards. Individual recognition, well, that was always going to happen whether he was at Real or any other club. Ronaldo is a great player. But 3 major trophies in 6 seasons is perhaps not the outcome that Ronaldo would have intended. Certainly not last season, when Real Madrid won absolutely nothing in spite of Ronaldo's personal best 61 goals. But this begs the question: to what extent does Ronaldo really have control over Real Madrid's success or failure?
Which brings us to one of the core problems with being Real Madrid’s all-time leading goal-scorer and best all-around player: the irrational and incoherent distribution of blame. You may have observed that the scale being used by the press to measure out criticism is always skewed unfairly towards great players. For example, I have read many articles in the last month on ESPN and other “acclaimed” media outlets that would suggest Real Madrid’s lack of silverware is somehow more the fault of Ronaldo than any other player. By comparison, there are literally zero articles (in English at least) that defend Ronaldo in any way, personally or professionally. Go ahead, do a quick google search and see if you can find anything written about Ronaldo that does not subtly (or overtly) blame him for all of Real’s suffering, or accuse him of being a petty, egotistical mercenary. Meanwhile, CR7 shoulders the blame year after year for a club whose president, Florentino Perez, stubbornly refuses to stop wasting money on football wunderkinds that are either left on the bench (only 11 players can be on the field at once, Mr. Perez) or eventually sold at a huge loss. There are literally too many examples for me to discuss in one article.
Indifference in the extreme
This is the point I would like to make. At Real Madrid, Ronaldo has no asylum from the hack journalism upon which many reporters (especially Americans) build their careers because his club does not respect any of its players, not even its talisman. Applause for goals scored perhaps, but is that really all it means to appreciate a player? What people forget about Ronaldo, and many other players at the Bernabeu, is that they are not mercenaries. They simply play for a club that treats them as such. Before Ronaldo ever set foot in Spain he said that it had been his life-long goal to play for Real Madrid. He had yearned for it since he was a child. These are not the words of a hired gun, but a person who deeply cared about having success with the storied club he had dreamt of since he first kicked a ball down the streets of Funchal.
Instead, it has been his unfortunate destiny to endure most of the blame for the actions of the Madrid aristocracy, who keep the club locked in such turmoil that they cannot help but underachieve. Ronaldo himself said in a recent interview that he was not fond of the club’s “revolving door” mentality, in particular, the upheaval generated by the aggressive transfer policy and constant managerial changes. Despite all of that, Ronaldo has carried Real Madrid to the relatively few positive results it has achieved during his time with the club, scoring the winning goal in the 2011 Copa del Rey final and scoring a record 17 goals in the 2013-14 Champions League winning campaign. Ironically, it might not be far from the truth to say that Ronaldo’s inimitable capacity to entertain the erratic Madrid crowds and score spectacular goals is the central reason why Florentino Perez and company still remain in power.
True, all great players must deal with unfair criticism. Yes, the press can be irrational and prejudiced in its assessment of all things football. Indeed, most great clubs change managers too frequently. But Real Madrid has shown an incomparable lack of interest in ever trying to assemble a football culture that endures any kind of difficulty. Rather, it attempts to buy itself out of trouble. From its fans, who are well known for booing their own team off the pitch with surprising regularity, to its juvenile president, this is an organization that decides its own incompetent destiny by failing to establish a club philosophy that nurtures success. If immediate gratification cannot be had, they sell everyone off and repeat the cycle. For sports journalists, who are looking to create controversy anyway, the tempest surrounding Real Madrid invites more opportunities to misleadingly portray Ronaldo as a rebellious figure that throws a tantrum whenever he does not get his way.
The inevitable end result is that the players, at least on some level, learn that their fate depends on how many jerseys are sold on their behalf which, of course, depends on how well they play. But sometimes even playing well is not enough at Real Madrid. Just ask Gonzalo Higuain, or Angel Di Maria. It is a veritable ambiance of failure that has so unfairly reflected on Ronaldo’s character and legacy.
No player is exempt
And that brings me to my final point. Madrid will do to Ronaldo what they have done to every other player that fails to scratch Perez’s itch in just the right way. Once Ronaldo slows down even a little, like this season perhaps, they will sell him up the river just like they did to club legend Raul, the previous all-time leading goalscorer before Ronaldo. They will cast him aside as if he never mattered even while they line their pockets with the transfer fees that he will certainly bring them.
As a fan, it pains me to see the last few good years of Ronaldo’s career wasted on a team that cannot win. It is not just because they play in the same league as Barcelona, a much more prolific and enduring organization, it is because Real is hopelessly bound to suffer the consequences of its unprofessional incompetence. Look no further than this year’s Copa del Rey debacle in which it was disqualified for fielding an ineligible player.
Last chance of glory
Rather than remain a passenger on the Bernabeu’s farcical merry-go-round, why not have one last adventure for a club that actually appreciates him as a player? To some extent, Ronaldo will always be caricatured as a narcissist by the media no matter where he goes, but why continue to play into the lie that his personality somehow fits that of his present club?
Make no mistake, the atmosphere in the Bernabeu reflects its fans and its leadership, not the players, and certainly not Ronaldo. With his 31st birthday and Euro 2016 on the horizon, Ronaldo is running out of opportunities to enhance his legacy. My honest opinion, as much as I hate to admit, is that whatever opportunity he may have had to cement his status as a legend of world football may have already been irreparably damaged by Real’s complete mismanagement of the team that has surrounded him the last six years.
But perhaps it is not too late to find a club where he can complete the last chapter of his extraordinary career in his own way as opposed to a version subjected to the caprice of Real Madrid’s tyrannical influence. It is time for Cristiano Ronaldo to leave behind Los Merengues and their delusional ideology, and maybe find that special place where people can appreciate him for what he really is. Not a mercenary, or an overpaid Galactico, but as a rare and singularly talented player whose presence at the pinnacle of his sport will not last forever. Age makes way for no man, not even Cristiano Ronaldo, and I for one hope that his last years at the top will be remembered not for the petty incompetence of his club, but for the joy he brings to fans of the world’s most beautiful game.
by Nathan Motz
