Cristiano Ronaldo is renowned for his relentless drive and self-belief to become the best – and he has proven it again in a rather unusual way.
The Portuguese legend is one of the greatest players ever to play the game. He joined Manchester United as an 18-year-old from Sporting Lisbon, and developed himself into a world superstar.
He has won 32 trophies across his career and scooped the Ballon d’Or five times across spells with United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
There have been times when Ronaldo has seemed truly unstoppable. He passed 40 goals in a league season on three separate occasions at Real.
His intense drive is what separates him from other players. Nobody is quite like the 36-year-old in terms of his full endeavour to be the absolute best.
Occasionally, that works to his detriment. It has emerged that Ronaldo got into a bizarre argument with the major football outlet, Transfermarkt, in 2020. The site is primarily a statistics hub for transfers, market values, and competition results, but it also provides transfer updates.
What did Transfermarkt post?
Posting on Instagram to their official account, Transfermarkt showcased the best possible XI of Jorge Mendes clients, according to their data. Mendes is a world-renowned football agent who works on behalf of some of the top footballers in the world.
The post, which the site uploaded in March 2020, gave Ronaldo a valuation of €75 million.
However, that was not enough to make him the most expensive player in the team. That accolade instead went to Bernardo Silva, at €100 million.
What happened next?
Transfermarkt tagged several of the top players in their post but missed one – Cristiano Ronaldo.
Posting below their graphic, they said: “We can’t tag Ronaldo because he blocked us after he saw his market value.”
Ronaldo would perhaps be even angrier if he saw his market value now. According to the latest Transfermarkt data, the 36-year-old has a market value of £31.50 million.
But even so, a valuation of €75 million, at the age of 35 when the graphic was posted, is still seriously good going. Players’ values tend to dip once they enter their 30s, yet Ronaldo still had one of the highest valuations of any player in world football. However, this clearly wasn’t enough for him.
The reason why Cristiano Ronaldo blocked Transfermarkt
According to the company’s UK manager, Daniel Busch, Cristiano Ronaldo got in touch with Transfermarkt on Instagram to complain about his value.
Busch told The Athletic: “We put a list on Instagram with 10 players, 33 and older, and Ronaldo was still in first place in value. But he said he must be worth much more.
Transfermarkt’s co-ordinator, Christian Swartz, added: “He sent a message first to our social media guys. They answered him, explained why and told him: ‘The people in your age group, you are by far the number one’.
“It was £30-50 million difference [between Ronaldo and the next player on the list]. Then he sent some smilies, and then he blocked us.”
In some ways, Ronaldo could be criticised for what looks like a petty act on the face of it. But, on the other hand, he has to be commended for his constant desire to be the absolute best he can be and his self-belief.
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