Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has defended Cristiano Ronaldo, highlighting his professionalism while at the Spanish club.
Ronaldo solved my problems at Real Madrid, he is very easy to coach: Ancelotti (Reuters)
By India Today Web Desk: Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti defended under-fire Cristiano Ronaldo, saying that the Portugal captain is an exceptional player and never caused any problems at the La Liga club. Ronaldo is going through a turbulent time in his highly decorated career as he parted ways with Manchester United after his explosive interview where he criticized the club and the manager.
Ronaldo was benched against Switzerland because manager Fernando Santos did not like his reaction to being substituted against South Korea, and he had to watch his replacement Goncalo Ramos bag a hat-trick in a 6-1 victory. Italian Ancelotti managed Ronaldo for two seasons at Real.
“Ronaldo probably still feels in his 20s because he’s fine, he’s got the answers he’s looking for in his body,” Ancelotti told Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport. “The competition has become tough.
“I’ve coached him (Ronaldo) for two years and there were no problems. In fact he solved them for me. Cristiano trains well, he pays attention to detail, everything was easy for me to manage. He is an exceptional player.”
Portugal’s Football Federation on Thursday denied media reports that Ronaldo had threatened to leave the national team during the World Cup after coach Fernando Santos dropped him.
Ronaldo, who has not scored since converting a penalty in Portugal’s opening game against Ghana, issued a statement saying the squad were “a group too united to be broken by external forces”.
Ronaldo’s future remains uncertain, with the 37-year-old denying reports that he has already agreed a mega-deal with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia. There is also no guarantee that Ronaldo will start Portugal’s quarter-final match against Morocco on Saturday, especially after Ramos’ heroics the previous match.
Portugal face Morocco in the quarter-finals on Saturday.