Cristiano Ronaldo was named FIFA Pro World Footballer of the Year this week. The 23 year old Manchester United winger picked up the award after an outstanding season last year for his club in which he bagged 42 goals in all competitions as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side romped home as both domestic and European Champions.
Ronaldo with two of his awards from last year:
( Picture courtesy of Getty Images )
By all accounts, Ronaldo’s performances on the pitch last season were fantastic, but is that a measure of greatness? The problem here is Ronaldo’s questionable character. Given that the Portugese is supposed to be a role model to young footballers everywhere, questions are being asked into how he conducts himself both on and off the pitch.
Problems first arose with Ronaldo when he did everything he could at the last World Cup to get his team mate Wayne Rooney sent off in the match between Portugal and England. Appealing to the referee to send somebody off the pitch and then being caught on camera winking to your manager is not what is expected in the professional game. Ronaldo followed this with a season in which he was renouned for diving ( throwing oneself to the ground whilst unchallenged ) , which is, in other words, cheating. He is renouned for his off the ball antics where he is often to be seen rolling around in ‘agony’ before jumping back to his feet simultaneously as the referee awards him a free kick.
Dissappointingly, it does not stop here. Off the pitch, Ronaldo spent the entire summer trying to engineer a move away from Old Trafford. Despite being the one of the highest paid footballers in the Premiership, Sir Alex Ferguson conceded that his ‘’head has been turned by money”.
What price loyalty eh?
As a result of this , Manchester United are about to offer him a new contract in the region of £150,000 per week in order to retain his services and keep him from the clutches of Real Madrid. This was , of course, after Ronaldo has announced he was staying at the club to repay the manager’s faith in him. ( Ferguson paid £12 million for the player when he was just 18 ).
What we are building up here is a picture of a footballer who is undeniably very talented but has a questionable character. This man is supposed to be a role model for young children, a role he is quite happy to fulfil in his numerous sponsorhip deals where large amounts of money are involved. But when it comes to actually fulfilling these obligations, the man is found to be wanting.
In conclusion, Ronaldo has won the award which makes him the greatest footballer of the year. But ‘greatness’ is a measure of a number of different things and it is fair to say that there are numerous other players out there who tick more of the boxes. Call Ronaldo the Most Skillful Player of the Year absolutely, but look to humble, generous and honest players such as John Terry, Stephen Gerrard and Ryan Giggs to name but a few, when one is earmarking ‘greatness’.
Giggs in his work as an Ambassador for UNICEF:
( Picture courtesy of UNICEF )
Each one of those men has proven himself to be an ambassador for their sport over the past year and I feel a distinction must be made when these prestigious awards are being handed out to professional footballers.
Green about London 