Paul Parker Article

Paul Parker

Different kind of pressure for Ronaldo

Thu Jul 02 11:18AM

Cristiano Ronaldo

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.

  1. kaka will outshined ronaldo, just watch it. kaka will be the man and the fan will love him more.

    hamzi_84From hamzi_84 on Thu Jul 02 05:35PM

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  2. yep the pressure is all on ronaldo he won't be as good at real his free kicks will be rubbish and so will his shooting accurey will go down and he will only score 10 goals next season at real and benzema fits into the united squad a lot better than madrids glory glory man utd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    trenarogerFrom trenaroger on Thu Jul 02 05:38PM

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  3. ALREET PAUL WAT ABOOT YE SAN. A SAY, PAUL BYE THON WASNT WAN A YER BAST URTACOLS. A FINK YE WERE STATANG THA BLEEDANG OBVIASS THAR.

    donneybyeFrom donneybye on Thu Jul 02 05:54PM

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  4. Paul...please do us all a favour and find some new material and write about something other than current or ex man.u players. Do you not realize that the pressure has been completely lifted from Ronaldo's shoulders? With the arrival of Kaka, himself, Benzema and most likely Ribery the focus and pressure is no longer on Ronaldo at center stage, the pressure is on all FOUR of them and the existing Real players now to succeed with the staggering fees and wages being dumped into the team. Check your head mate.

    ethan_caldwellFrom ethan_caldwell on Thu Jul 02 06:02PM

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  5. Hope the winker f#ck's up,to much money for the p#ick.over rated but not over here thank god.by by

    grayswood20From grayswood20 on Thu Jul 02 06:10PM

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  6. Hope the winker f#ck's up,to much money for the p#ick.over rated but not over here thank god.by by

    grayswood20From grayswood20 on Thu Jul 02 06:10PM

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  7. Hope the winker f#ck's up,to much money for the p#ick.over rated but not over here thank god.by by

    grayswood20From grayswood20 on Thu Jul 02 06:10PM

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  8. Hope the winker f#ck's up,to much money for the p#ick.over rated but not over here thank god.by by

    grayswood20From grayswood20 on Thu Jul 02 06:10PM

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  9. Hope the winker f#ck's up,to much money for the p#ick.over rated but not over here thank god.by by

    grayswood20From grayswood20 on Thu Jul 02 06:10PM

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  10. Nice one soysg. Well said!

    james.lillywhiteFrom james.lillywhite on Thu Jul 02 07:11PM

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  11. Can't you get it out of your system? Try a new song, or a new job!

    sy.vellamoFrom sy.vellamo on Thu Jul 02 07:19PM

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  12. How can you not smile with that amount of moulah!? Just goes to show...money can not buy you happiness.

    optimalpartnershipsFrom optimalpartnerships on Thu Jul 02 07:23PM

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  13. OMG what a stupid article!! Ronaldo last year was angry not because of pressure but because he was already thinking of Real Madrid...Parker find another a job you are not a Man U great you are a disgrace..Cristiano Ronaldo hopefully our fans will realise their mistake and you will be able to come back at some point in the future...

    serk0sFrom serk0s on Thu Jul 02 07:28PM

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  14. i predict a slow start for him.. sometimes he lets pressure affect his game.. he reacts well to booing though... maybe if all the Real fans booed him he might make a good debut..lol
    i'm reserving judgement.. i know some madrid fans who don't want him in the team.. they said they think his ego will ruin everything.. so you never know...

    bigjeffrulesFrom bigjeffrules on Thu Jul 02 07:29PM

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  15. duh.......another PP master stroke of the obvious............if hes gettin paid more than £5 for this article i would be amazed.!!.......question to myself...........why doi look at PP articles.......i know they are rubbish!??....BTW this is the first time I've coomeented on PP .......but if he persists on maiin these inane blurts of useless unsophisticted comment i will be changing my homepage so that i wont fall for his inept editorial ( hahaha thats a laff) comments!!!

    gldn_boy04From gldn_boy04 on Thu Jul 02 07:43PM

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  16. I CAN NOT BELIEVE YOU ARE BEING PAID TO WRITE THIS UTTER GARBAGE PARKER. NEW PRESSURE ON RONALDO - HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO COME UP WITH THOSE WORDS OF WISDOM?

    dahousepandaFrom dahousepanda on Thu Jul 02 08:03PM

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  17. come on stop speculating and willing CR failure... english football had its time now its the time of spanish football...more exactly (real madrid's time)

    rabih_zebianFrom rabih_zebian on Thu Jul 02 08:13PM

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  18. It really should not matter if Ronaldo performs at Real or not. its actually Man U's lost and Real Madrid's gain.His dream from day 1 is to play for Real not Man U. I guess for him Man U was just a stepping stone to bigger things. No world class player will ever pick Man U over Real. Man U can not even begin to compete.

    sonydariyaFrom sonydariya on Thu Jul 02 08:23PM

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  19. Doesnt matter about the players you have Madrid swap manages every season...No way Ramos is gonna handle it...

    glennvdpasFrom glennvdpas on Thu Jul 02 08:25PM

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  20. Remember how much we payed for ronnie. £12.6million was it? made £68mill from him and he virtually won us the champs league and the last 3 prem leagues. fergie now has spent on valencia, lets c what he can do with him. news today though that michael owen is taling to man utd. fergie knows what he's doing there, owen and rooney for england were exceptional, even with rooney out wide, berba will suit owens paly.....if he stays fit of course.

    geramardFrom geramard on Thu Jul 02 08:29PM

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  21. my arse. united have 2 win things for the nxt 3 yrs , 2 justify selling him, 80, mill is nothing over 3 yrs,i hope as allways god ,sir alex, or whatever has got it right again.long live the dream. long live utd

    johntheworker2002From johntheworker2002 on Thu Jul 02 08:46PM

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  22. madrid have too many stars ronaldo wont really perform in madrid with kaka there nd more stars 2 come. "tough"

    kennedyokolieFrom kennedyokolie on Thu Jul 02 08:49PM

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  23. madrid have too many stars ronaldo wont really perform in madrid with kaka there nd more stars 2 come. "tough"

    kennedyokolieFrom kennedyokolie on Thu Jul 02 08:50PM

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  24. come on chelsea

    kennedyokolieFrom kennedyokolie on Thu Jul 02 08:51PM

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  25. come on chelsea

    kennedyokolieFrom kennedyokolie on Thu Jul 02 08:52PM

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  26. keep on crying man utd fans we are in the sun here this is white of madrid we do not joke around

    zaferawawalhFrom zaferawawalh on Thu Jul 02 08:58PM

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  27. well paul u r talking about that if he dont show his class next year all the money they spent will be lost...but all that money that they used for transfer will be taken back from selling dresses!!!!!!!

    anavulevicFrom anavulevic on Thu Jul 02 08:59PM

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  28. mwatheka ma u

    zaferawawalhFrom zaferawawalh on Thu Jul 02 08:59PM

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  29. well paul u r talking about that if he dont show his class next year all the money they spent will be lost...but all that money that they used for transfer will be taken back from selling dresses!!!!!!!

    anavulevicFrom anavulevic on Thu Jul 02 09:00PM

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  30. Ronaldo is one horrible man. Your article is pointless.

    gazfukFrom gazfuk on Thu Jul 02 09:04PM

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