Ronaldo Doesn't Get It

Ronaldo has admitted that he decided he wanted to leave Manchester United after the Champions League victory against Chelsea.

He hasn’t seemed totally “there” for a lot of this season, particularly at the start, although he seemed to come alive a bit more towards the end of the season when the scent of silverware and individual honours was at its strongest so this admission doesn’t come as a great surprise.

Here’s the quote:-

“After we won the European Cup I thought there is no more I can achieve here. And when you have done all you can, you know it is time for a new challenge. I stayed one more season and it was nice to make it three titles in a row, but it was my dream to play for Madrid.”

Fair enough and that is one of the most lucid comments Ronaldo has made in the last three years. But he continues:-

“Of course, I have not gone for the money. To go down as the greatest. It will take lots of work, but that is my target. If you go down as the greatest at Madrid it means you are one of the greatest of all time.”

Actually Ronaldo, it will not take quite as much work as you imagine. Here is my formula for your success…

1. Carry on playing with the bravery, the skill and the determination that you have shown throughout your career so far.
2. Stop diving.
3. Stop sitting on the floor, waving your arms in the air for two minutes after the referee has turned down your appeal for a free kick because you got tackled or just lost the ball.
4. Get up on your feet and show some willing to win the ball back when you have lost possession.
5. Show some humility from time to time.
6. Appreciate that your team mates need a pat on the back from you from time to time and not always the other way round. Their hard work allows you to strut your stuff, safe in the knowledge that if you don’t quite pull it off, one of them will pick up the pieces.
7. Accept that sometimes, for the benefit of the season as a whole, you will be substituted and that this will come higher up your manager’s priorities than you being able to give your visiting family a good show. Leave the field with good grace and set a good example to your young fans.

Basically, it won’t take “hard work” for Ronaldo to move closer to becoming “The Greatest”. The things that let him down are amongst the easiest to put into practice.