Ronaldo is disliked in his country, says former Atletico Madrid player

Cristiano Ronaldo has won almost everything possible in club football during his time with Manchester United in England and Real Madrid in Spain, but his biggest trophy arguably was the UEFA Euro 2016, that he won earlier this year. However, despite a fantastic year for Cristiano, Paulo Futre says there are a lot of people in Portugal who still prefer Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo despite Ronaldo’s part in Portugal’s historic victory in France. 

Cristiano Ronaldo is obviously adored all around his homeland Portugal,  but Futre feels that is not enough for Cristiano. “Cristiano is Portuguese, he has done everything, is a European Champion,” the ex-Atletico Madrid player told El Larguero. 

“But he has many enemies there – for the way he is. He is very direct and creates many enemies in his own country; there was a time when many people used to chant ‘Messi, Messi, Messi’ outside the Portugal team hotel, which was shameful,” added Futre. 

Cristiano is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or this year after he guided Portugal to the European Championship finals and lead his team from the sidelines as they upset the fans in France beating the home team 1-0. He also guided Real Madrid to their second Champions League trophy in three years with the winning penalty against Atletico Madrid.

“Without a doubt, there are people in Portugal who want Messi to win the Ballon d'Or; This is something very Portuguese,” said Futre. 

Cristiano has, over the years, attracted a lot of negativity from fans around the world for his direct approach to the game and his attitude in general, while many have criticised his obsession on individual honours and beating Lionel Messi. However, there are others who have deemed the competition between the two men as healthy and that they push each other as individuals

Lionel Messi currently holds a record five Ballon d’Or trophies while Cristiano Ronaldo has three. The Portuguese captain is the front-runner in the race for the Ballon d’Or trophy but Messi has caught up after a fantastic start to the 2016-17 season while Cristiano struggled to find his best form. 

However, Ronaldo has jumped ahead after thundering performance against Atletico Madrid this weekend, where he scored a hat-trick to give Real Madrid a 4 point lead on top of the table. This performance comes just days before the voting for the FIFA Player of the Year award closes and could play a major part on who wins, should the polls turn out to be close this year