Player Profile

Style of Play

Ronaldo is a versatile attacker, capable of playing on either wing as well as through the center of the pitch. Ronaldo is known to be mentally sharp, with good vision and positioning, often predicting certain plays; he also possesses quick reactions, opportunism, balance, and agility. Although right-footed, he is also able to control the ball, cross, and finish well with his left foot.

Ronaldo is known for his technical skill, control and dribbling ability, as well as his flair in beating players during one on one situations. A prolific goalscorer, he is able to finish well both inside the area and from distance with an accurate and powerful shot.  He is also an accurate penalty kick and set piece specialist, who is renowned for his powerful, bending free kicks.

In his final seasons at United, Ronaldo played an even more prolific, attacking, and central role, functioning both as a striker and as asupporting forward, or even as an attacking midfielder on occasion. At Real Madrid, he continued to play a more offensive role, while his creative and defensive duties became more limited. Initially deployed as a centre-forward, he was later moved back onto the left wing, though in a free tactical role, allowing him to drift into the centre at will.  In recent seasons, he effectively adapted his style to the physical effects of ageing with increasingly reduced off-the-ball movement and general involvement, instead focusing on short-distance goalscoring.

Reception

Ronaldo has at times been criticised for diving when tackled, about which his former Real Madrid manager José Mourinho responded: "Cristiano is a player who does not have the culture of the swimming pool, he has no culture of simulation, he is a British-trained player, Ferguson trained. In some cases, the simulators are given more protection, and those who are honest are often the losers. I'm not a hypocrite if I say that they [defenders] hit Cristiano very hard, and that the yellow cards do not arrive or are slow in coming" , Ronaldo had also been described as having an "arrogant image" on the field, with Ronaldo stating that he had become a "victim", because of how he was portrayed in the media.

Comparisons to Lionel Messi

Both players have scored in two UEFA Champions League finals and have regularly broken the 50 goal barrier in a single season. Sports journalists and pundits regularly argue the individual merits of both players in an attempt to argue who they believe is the best player in modern football. It has been compared to legendary sports rivalries such as the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier rivalry in boxing, the Borg–McEnroe rivalry in tennis, and the Ayrton Senna-Alain Prost rivalry from Formula One motor racing. Some commentators choose to analyse the differing physiques and playing styles of the two, while part of the debate revolves around the contrasting personalities of the two players: Ronaldo is sometimes depicted as an arrogant and theatrical showoff, while Messi is portrayed as a shy, humble character. Both Players are in different clubs, Representing arch rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid, the two players face each other at least twice every season in the world's biggest club game, El Clásico, which had a global audience of 400 million viewers in March 2014.