6 big-name footballers who’ve had beef with Cristiano Ronaldo: Rodri, Rooney…
Cristiano Ronaldo often lets his football do the talking, but every now and again, he manages to drag himself into a war of words with a fellow pro.
When something upsets CR7, the Portuguese superstar doesn’t tend to hold back and he’s had a few big bust-ups over the years.
We’ve gone back throughout Ronaldo’s career and have found six superstars that he’s had beef with over the years.
Rodri
Ronaldo made headlines in December when he claimed it “wasn’t fair” that Vinicius Junior didn’t win the Ballon d’Or.
“It wasn’t fair, in my opinion. I’ll say that here in front of everybody. They gave it to Rodri. He deserved it, too,” Ronaldo said.
“But I think they should have given it to Vinicius Jr because he won the Champions League and scored a goal in the final. The other issues for me are not important.”
It’s safe to say that Rodri didn’t take those comments lying down as he quickly fired back with a response of his own.
“Well, it was a surprise, really, because he knows better than anyone how this award works and, above all, how the winner is chosen,” Rodri told AS.
“This year, the journalists who vote have decided that I should win it.
“Probably, these same journalists were the ones who, at some point, voted for him to win it, and I imagine that then he would have agreed.”
Isco
Following Ronaldo’s departure from Real Madrid in 2018, he had a brief war of words with one of his former teammates.
In the aftermath of Ronaldo leaving, it’s no secret that the club suffered a loss of form as they struggled to find much momentum throughout the 2018–19 campaign.
When asked about Ronaldo’s departure, Isco fired a shot at his former teammate who he claimed “didn’t want to be here.”
“People have been talking about that all season. We can’t be talking about someone who isn’t here,” Isco told reporters in 2018.
“We can’t be crying over someone who didn’t want to be here.”
When asked for a response, Ronaldo fired back and said: “It’s all right. You can not cry. I do not have to talk about other clubs.
“Everyone knows the story I had at Real Madrid. It’s not for me to talk about the crisis of others.”
Wayne Rooney
Despite once being close teammates at Manchester United, Rooney and Ronaldo no longer see eye-to-eye with one another.
After Rooney was critical of Ronaldo in the media, the Portuguese superstar didn’t take his comments lying down.
“Probably [it’s jealousy]. Probably – because he finished his career in his 30s,” Ronaldo told Piers Morgan when discussing Rooney.
“I’m still playing at a high level; I’m not going to say that I’m looking better than him, which is true.”
Rooney responded to Ronaldo’s comments by saying: “Well, listen, Cristiano Ronaldo’s a fantastic player and, as I’ve said before, he and [Lionel] Messi are the two best players probably to play the game.
“And, again, it’s not a criticism. What I’ve said is age comes to all of us, and Cristiano is obviously feeling that and he’s finding it hard to deal with that.”
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Xavi
Back in 2015, Ronaldo claimed that Xavi had “no relevance” after the Spaniard had declared Lionel Messi the best player in the world.
“What does it matter to me what Xavi says? Xavi plays in Qatar or used to, I don’t know. He has no relevance,” Ronaldo said.
“He’s won everything but he’s never won a Ballon d’Or. I have three. So I don’t care what he says.”
Adil Rami
Ronaldo recently made headlines when he claimed the Saudi Pro League is a higher standard than the French top division.
“France only has PSG. The rest are finished,” Ronaldo boldly claimed.
“Saudi Arabia’s league is far better than the French league, and I stand by that. I’m not saying this because I play there; it’s what I genuinely believe.”
Former Lille and Marseille defender Rami didn’t take those comments lying down as he responded to Ronaldo’s claims in emphatic style.
“He’s just talking nonsense; do you want me to show you footage of defenders in Saudi Arabia?” Rami said during a Twitch stream.
“The lads (in Saudi Arabia) are overweight and don’t care at all That’s the reality.
“If you come to France overweight, just see how long you last… Go to Saudi Arabia, and you’ll find all the ex-players from the biggest clubs in the world eating McDonald’s every day.
“Try playing against Monaco, Lille, or Marseille. Take your little team to play against Brest.
“We are the biggest breeding ground in the world, alongside Brazil. We have defenders; these are real matches! If you throw him into, they would eat him alive.”
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Sergio Ramos
Upon Ronaldo joining Juventus, he said: “It’s different here, it’s like a family.”
Ramos fired back at Ronaldo’s comments and claimed Real Madrid is also like a family and that no one is bigger than the club.
“We have had lots of success, which is because we are a family and he was part of that family, which we have continued to have,” Ramos said in 2018.
“It’s obviously a negative when you lose a player like Cristiano Ronaldo, but we can continue to win.
“No one is above Real Madrid, whatever happens Real Madrid will continue to live on and it was his choice to leave.
“Losing Ronaldo was hard, but no player is above Real Madrid and we still have the hunger to improve and win more titles.”