Should Real Madrid consider selling Cristiano Ronaldo?

Are his days numbered at Real Madrid? / Image via sportige.com

No one is irreplaceable and no one is bigger that the club itself. Cristiano Ronaldo, before everybody else, should know that.

Portuguese star raised many eyebrows with his comments after the Madrid Derby.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a born winner, who hates to lose games, but that should not be taken as any excuse for the thwo-time Ballon d’Or winner.

The 30-year-old Real Madrid forward laid into his teammates following the 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid on Saturday claiming that rest of the team were not on his level.

“If we were all at my level, maybe we would be leaders right now”, Ronaldo said in the heat of the moment.

Ronaldo tried to redeem himself by saying later on that he was referring to the level of fitness, not play, but the damage was long done.

Without a number of first-team choices such as Pepe, Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Karim Benzema, who was forced out at the interval due to his injury, Cristiano Ronaldo was evidently unhappy with the rest of the squad and he was not trying to hide his emotions.

Having excluded himself from the group, Cristiano Ronaldo is trying to avoid taking responsibility and that is the only explanation behind his selfish rant towards the likes of Lucas Vasquez, Jese and Mateo Kovacic, who were singled out during Ronaldo’s comments.

Real Madrid have been dealt a huge blow at the Santiago Bernabeu and the 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid has been their third consecutive defeat at home turf. What is more, it has seen them drop four points behind the Rojiblancos in second and Zidane’s men are also trailing leaders Barcelona by 12 points.

Their title prospects look dim and it is fair to say that Los Blancos are effectively out of the La Liga title race. What is more, Villarreal are just two points behind in fourth and Real Madrid face a tough challenge of keeping the third spot until the end of the season.

With his 34 goals thus far in the season, Cristiano Ronaldo has indeed been the most outstanding performer of the club, but he is the kind of a player who will go out and take all the limelight after a win, while he would move focus towards his teammates when his team are losing.

A trait unworthy of the top-class professional, a role model to young generations of footballers who grow up looking up to him.

Ronaldo’s skill and quality cannot be questioned, but his chronic lack of compassion and consideration could might as well cost him his place with the fans and with the club’s hierarchy.

Florentino Perez has had an erratic relationship with the Portuguese star over the last couple of seasons, at some points even putting Ronaldo above the club, but his most recent rants and blunders will give Florentino Perez a trump card, which Real Madrid president is likely to pull out of the deck.

Perez needs to defend his public image and the image of the Spanish giants.

Ronaldo was angered by members of the press ahead of the AS Roma match, outbursts towards his teammates came just a couple of days later and Florentino Perez is aware he can lose more than he can get with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Beginning of a brand new era under Zinedine Zidane, who is not without pressure himself, could come as a tempting idea to Florentino Perez.

Should Perez sell Ronaldo?

The Portuguese star broke every single record at Santiago Bernabeu, having scored 324 goals for a new club record, bettering Raul’s 323 milestone. He has been a tremendous influence for Los Blancos, but has become too much of a liability.

Cristiano Ronaldo is not the leader on the pitch.

Too self-oriented, Ronaldo is not the type of a player willing to share the limelight. The emergence of Gareth Bale was the one simple proof. Brought as a direct replacement for Ronaldo, the Welsh wizard was seen as a threat by Cristiano himself and was given a rough treatment by the Portuguese player.

Even the transfer fee was enough to anger Cristiano Ronaldo, who felt jeopardized by the Welshman’s overwhelming price tag.

If he is to build a new Real Madrid, free of big egos and vain stars, Florentino Perez simply needs to get rid of the biggest one of them all.