“I didn’t like Ronaldo” - 24-year-old striker opens up on how Cristiano Ronaldo changed his perception after watching Portugal
Jordan international Ali Alwan lavished praise on Cristiano Ronaldo's leadership after watching the Portuguese superstar represent his country.
The 39-year-old, who has already won the European Championships with Portugal in 2016, is gearing up for another edition of the tournament this summer. With the Al-Nassr striker entering the final stages of his career, this could well be Ronaldo's last major tournament for his nation.
Alwan admitted that he wasn't a big fan of the former Real Madrid star but changed his mind after watching the five-time Ballon d'Or winner lead his country. He said (via @GOATTWORLD):
"I didn't like Ronaldo. I liked it after I saw him with Portugal and he came to victory. He is a leadership player and can lead any club in the world."
Currently, the captain of Portugal, Ronaldo, has made 206 international appearances across competitions, bagging 128 goals and 46 assists. He's also the skipper of Al-Nassr, who play in the Saudi Pro League.
Leading his club side, Ronaldo himself has done extremely well, having scored 42 goals and assisted 12 in 41 matches across competitions this season. However, the Riyadh-based side lost out on the league title to Al-Hilal and are currently second, 12 points behind the leaders, with three games remaining.
Cristiano Ronaldo slammed by journalist for poor leadership qualities in recent sending-off
Cristiano Ronaldo was slammed by Saudi-based journalist Ahmed Atif for poor leadership after being sent off in the 2-1 Saudi Super Cup semi-final loss to Al-Hilal on April 9.
With his team down by two goals in the 86th minute, Ronaldo was caught elbowing Al-Hilal defender Ali Albulayhi and was then given his marching orders. Calling out the striker, Atif said (via Essentially Sports):
"The team is missing you. You may not even know, there is still time. You as a leader, as we say in Cristiano, in consistency, in personality. Now he is taking responsibility. You are a leader, you are not supposed to be easily provoked."
"Even if you are (provoked), you have been through a lot of games like this."
On the night, Al-Nassr managed to pull a goal back in stoppage time through Sadio Mane (90+9') with 10 men. However, it wasn't enough as Al-Hilal held on to their single-goal advantage in the dying moments.
Expect Ronaldo to lead the line for Al-Nassr when they host Al-Hilal in the league on Friday (May 17).