Different kind of pressure for Ronaldo
Thu Jul 02 11:18AM
Now that Cristiano Ronaldo has completed his £80m move to Real Madrid, we'll see exactly what the Portuguese forward is made of.
The size of the fee, making him the most expensive player in the world, immediately ramps up the pressure on his shoulders.
For that kind of money - and for the wages he will be getting - failure will not be accepted and he will be expected to perform from day one at the Bernabeu.
That's an entirely different situation to the one he found himself in when he arrived at Manchester United.
Back then, in 2003, he was a relatively unknown youngster who merely showed promise. Nothing was expected of him straight away.
He took a few years to adjust before growing into one of the best players in the world, but question marks remain over his ability to perform under intense pressure.
Having scored 42 goals a couple of seasons ago, the hype surrounding him was incredible at the beginning of the last campaign, especially after he had spent the summer being linked with Real.
But on the whole, I don't think he handled it too well. He was too reactive to pressure-cooker situations. He did not play with a smile on his face and he always seemed angry, whether with the opposition, the referee or his own team-mates.
Yes, another season performing at such a high level was virtually impossible. Yes, he managed to score another 26 goals. And yes, he added a few more medals to his collection.
But his performances and his attitude, especially in some of the bigger games, did not suggest he was comfortable playing under such pressure.
Ronaldo certainly needs to add consistency to his game in those big matches. The problem is that next season every game will be a big one for Real.
Having conceded the title to Barcelona, Real fans will be desperate for their team to avoid any further embarrassment.
With Ronaldo and Kaka in their ranks - and Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery expected to follow - they will be looking to surpass Barca, not just equal them.
And having been the undisputed top dog at United, Ronaldo must once again prove himself the main man ahead of some very illustrious colleagues.
Of course that breeds yet more pressure and yet more scrutiny, both of which Ronaldo will have to learn to deal with. If not, he'll find out how quicky the Real fans can turn on their own players.
author is Man U fanatic
From siput_babi_90 on Thu Jul 02 01:42PMhmmm you realy have to wonder whether or not they will be able to deal with barcelona who has xavi, iniesta eto'o puyol henry messi and many more extremely goodplayers... football is about how you play as a team not how the individuals play within the team... i think real madrid will still lose to barca...
From tomburgess01 on Thu Jul 02 01:43PMMan U fanatics, boring
From siput_babi_90 on Thu Jul 02 01:49PMEveryone keeps going on about how he cannot be replaced. Man Utd have a reputation of finding absolute gems. Young players who are packed full of potential. There AT THE MOMENT is no player in the world that matches CR's calibre. Sir Alex knows what to do in the transfer market and im sure there will be a replacement at Old Trafford within the next couple of years.
As a Man Utd fan i'm sad to see him go, but his attitude last season was shocking. You could tell he didnt want to be there. It was only in the Champions League that he really made an ounce of effort.
I think alot of people will be surpirsed at the impact Valencia will make at Utd next season. Its not the player as an individual but the players around him who can make him stand out and at Utd he will have that chance to shine.
From kyle.jb86 on Thu Jul 02 01:50PMLET HOPE IS A MAGICAL BUY, AND HE CAN TURN THINGS AROUND BUT REAL MUST BE PATIENT AND GIVE THE NEW GUYS TIME TO BLEND
GOODLUCK BUT BE READY IF WE MEET AGAIN IN EUROPE [LIVERPOOL FOREVER]
From my2imam on Thu Jul 02 01:51PMl always suspected that when ever CR& left united, there would be an army of ex-United players running him down, oh he's not really worth it, he was never really a United player, he wasn't that good, and things like that. Glad to see l'm not wrong about that, but sad to see they are like that.
From manuba1 on Thu Jul 02 01:53PMSchool kids do better qaulity homework than this parker cant believe you are getting paid for this garbage
From lowboy_8inches on Thu Jul 02 01:55PMManU fans like paul parker prays that ronaldo fails. Parker desperately want ronaldo to regret his insistence to leave man u. im happy there are other man u fans that have good wishes to this young talent.
Parker said last week that Kaka Deal shows up Chelsea. Let someone tell him that Benzema also dumped ManU for Real Madrid. He is nakedly bias and particularly against chelsea. I wonder why eurosport sees nothing wrong in feeding us with such annoyance
From papaogos on Thu Jul 02 01:55PMRonaldo or any of the other new signings for that matter needs to be a magician to hit the ground performing but i do not think that will mean he is under pressure. The club will be suffering delusion of the grandiose proportion if they expect such miracles. They need time to gell so the club should just be contented with selling merchandise this first season then if they are still here next season they can attempt winning things. It's however overzealous the way they are spending the cash though. In my country Nigeria we will term it 'MONEY MISS ROAD'
From gabominyi on Thu Jul 02 01:56PMI think PP is wrong (yet again) by saying Ronaldo can't perform under pressure.
Wasn't he playing under the intense glare of everyone following the 'wink saga' at the world cup.It's an open secret that his attitude last season was down to his move to Real being blocked by Man Utd against his will.
Man Utd did NOT discover Ronaldo as he was wanted by other big clubs in Europe thats a fact.
From treveo on Thu Jul 02 01:59PMHow about when he came back from the World Cup and was hated by all of England pretty much? Or the pressure of being World player of the year?
I'm not a fan of Ronaldo but he is a big player that likes the attentions and thrives in it. Anyway, even if he doesn't perform, the pressure will be eased by all the other multi million pound superstars in the Real team.
From badnad88 on Thu Jul 02 02:01PMI might be the only one who feels this way...and I'm not bitter about his transfer, but Ronaldo doesn't play for ManUtd anymore. Therefore, I think that these "Ronaldo at Real Madrid blah blah blah" shouyld go on a different page.
From rtiffany0466 on Thu Jul 02 02:06PMsoysg - i think you forget that Paul Parker also played ,any times for Chelsea, so i can't really see where the bias would come in? Get you favts right!
From rednev77 on Thu Jul 02 02:06PMParker is the most parochia and bias reporter I've ever seen and I'd stopped reading his nonsense writeups.
From dumwi7 on Thu Jul 02 02:10PMDo you think we could move on!!!! He`s gone!!!!!!! Finished!!!!! Get a life!!!!
He was a really honest person.............he said that he would be staying at Utd then he said he had decided to move last year!!!!!!!!! Good luck to him, now call it a day.....pleaseeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!From ritter59 on Thu Jul 02 02:16PMfor raulpeeves ... slow build up fancy passing players beat man u in the final of the cl... so stfu u poom
From alex.urzica on Thu Jul 02 02:16PMStating the obvious. Do you get paid for writing this, or are you on some care inthe community program?
From paulie554433 on Thu Jul 02 02:17PMI say 'Good Rithens!' Finally some teams can show their real potential with the DIVER of the Century.
From madrigall15 on Thu Jul 02 02:21PMIt seems people critcise for someone having their view. If you don't like PP's article, don't read. It's natural paul links this to United, and tbh United have always overcome squad changes. yes, Ronaldo will be missed, but don't think Real are going to beat everyone...seems like they are buying strikers when hat they actually need is a defence.
From rachel_louise33 on Thu Jul 02 02:22PMRonaldo loves pressure.. he will always be ronaldo and do his tricks an dances.. but i think he will score the goals for Real this season especially under pressure.. 42 goals though?.. who knows, the amount of money Real Madrid will make off Tshirts this season with his name on it .. it wont matter if he only scores 9
From sivirtue on Thu Jul 02 02:23PMI have heard many acusations of Mr. Parker being a Man Utd homer because he played for them for all. I can see why. He criticises Ronaldo on a "sub-par" season when 1) there was no way Ronaldo could've duplicated his 42 goal season and 2) Ronaldo was unhappy - he did not want to be at Old Trafford. Yes, I agree there will be some pressure on Ronaldo at Real Madrid, but I think he will be fine.
From kucg123 on Thu Jul 02 02:27PMman city the next all great team wont job fergi
From arthurlarkin on Thu Jul 02 02:28PMFunny how when he's at United, Parker comes out with articles say 'United Must Keep Ronaldo', but as soon as he's gone - we hear about all the flaws in his character while playing under pressure. I have to say, Parker, you continually come out with utter (often contradicting) nonsense. Why not try writing an article that doesn't involve Man Utd... oh right... thought so, you've got nothing else worth saying.
From gmuk_2002 on Thu Jul 02 02:28PMJust wanna say i hate real so much right now...but not more than i hate liverpool...haha...scousers die ur going down..xabi n masch are leaving...
From sonofik on Thu Jul 02 02:29PMBy the way with Benzema and possibly Ribery on their way to Madrid and Tevez maybe at Man City, can someone tell me what's going to happen with that 80 mil?
From kucg123 on Thu Jul 02 02:31PMwhat do people read his articles if all they do is slag them off.... if you dont like or agree with what he writes, dont read it
From kit00009 on Thu Jul 02 02:31PMwish him well man.u fans
From olufemioyedeji on Thu Jul 02 02:38PMReal is a big club with a highly respected player, C'Ronaldo will perform excently. I wiches wishes him well in his future career at Real
From mamoo72 on Thu Jul 02 02:42PMi think ronaldo has make a big mistake he will have to sit on the bench more he is not the main player
From magryder on Thu Jul 02 02:43PMthank you captain obvious
From maggimagg.rm on Thu Jul 02 02:49PM
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