Ronaldo wonders if it's time to say adios at Madrid
Ronaldo is regarded as the world's top striker. He helped Brazil win the World Cup and has scored plenty of goals for Real Madrid.
Ronaldo is regarded as the world's top striker. He helped Brazil win the World Cup and has scored plenty of goals for Real Madrid.
Yet he can't endear himself to fans of the Spanish power. They whistle at him during games at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, and now a dispirited Ronaldo is considering leaving Madrid after the season.
"The president has known for some time of my sadness," Ronaldo said. "And nothing has changed. The whistling may influence my decision. I have never felt at home in the Bernabeu."
"The treatment at the Bernabeu is something very important to be taken into account with regards to the future because I've never felt at home where I'm not liked."
The 29-year-old star is under contract until 2008. He insists he won't rush into a decision.
"Right now, I'm only thinking about the league and the Champions League. At the end of the season is when one thinks about things and weighs them up," he said.
Ronaldo has been voted world player of the year three times and European player of the year twice. For Real Madrid, he has 94 goals in 143 appearances.
He is baffled by the fans' antipathy, which was evident again Saturday when he was substituted in the 58th minute of Madrid's 3-0 win over Alaves in the Spanish league.
"I don't understand Madrid fans because on the street the treatment is fantastic, but they have never warmed to me," he said.
Madrid fans are considered among the most fickle in European soccer. Some regard Ronaldo as overweight and object to his past as a player for FC Barcelona. But most contend he doesn't try hard enough, unlike their favorite, locally born Raul Gonzalez.
"Madrid fans see what players can do and what they actually produce," lifelong Madrid fan Carlos Benito said. "In Ronaldo's case, they demand more. He's not the player he was when he arrived. Remember, he scored twice in his Madrid debut."
Ronaldo scored 23 league goals in his first season in 2002 after leaving Inter Milan in and helped Madrid win a record 29th Spanish league title in 2003.
But Madrid has failed to win a major trophy since, and a poll on the Web site of the sports newspaper Marca on Tuesday suggested 70 percent of those responding want the club to sell him.
Emilio Butragueno, a former star and now a Madrid vice president, insists Madrid fans do appreciate Ronaldo.
"It happened to me, too." Butragueno told Cadena Copa. "When I played badly or didn't offer what the crowd wanted they whistled me, even though I was always liked by people."