Johnny Phillips: Ronaldo always has to be front and centre stage
There is an unmistakable tell which gives Cristiano Ronaldo away on the football pitch. He never manages to focus entirely on the game, conscious of his own image at all times. At major tournaments there are big screens in the corner of stadia, showing all the action, the replays and close-ups. Ronaldo can never resist glancing up at the screens when a close-up of him is projected.
He did it ahead of the penalty which opened the scoring for Portugal at this World Cup. There he was waiting for the referee to clear the protesting Ghanaians from the penalty area and blow his whistle. And as soon as a close-up of his face appeared on the screen, Ronaldo glanced up, just to check how he was looking.
It is this self-obsession that has been at the heart of Ronaldo as an elite player on the pitch, a global brand off it and a career that has now spanned five World Cups. Though it all he tends to get his own way. Most recently that has been a distraction to his club and his team-mates. As we enter the second week of the World Cup, the story will continue with Portugal’s talisman for some time yet – a free agent now that he has extricated himself from that Manchester United contract.
Ronaldo has acquired an almost cult-like following, particularly among young males over the years, worshipping him like a deity. He has over 500million Instagram followers. When he left Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018, the Spanish club lost two million Twitter followers overnight while his new club gained six million new users across their social media platforms.
Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United brought an army of new young fans and the player’s marketability has become a key facet of his persona. He needs to be front and centre of any stage, which is why his increasingly peripheral role under Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford was always going to cause problems.
Ronaldo’s powers on the pitch are diminishing and most fair-minded observers have come to the conclusion that United are a better team with him out of the starting line-up, where his impact would be saved as a substitute entering the field later in the game. Yet Ronaldo’s army of fans would never countenance this.
When Ronaldo took drastic action last week and broke the terms of his contract by making an unscheduled appearance on Piers Morgan’s television show there were still plenty of sympathetic voices to his cause to be found from fans and pundits. Ronaldo knows that he carries a weight of support behind him no matter how selfishly he behaves.
“I don’t have to worry what others think,” he said, at the start of this week. “I talk when I want to. Everyone knows who I am.” Ronaldo plays for Ronaldo.
Yet here is the paradox, because there can be no doubt that his impact on the teams he has appeared in over a glittering career has been phenomenal. His dedication to his profession often dragging up lesser players around him.
On Thursday afternoon in Qatar there were glimpses of both Ronaldo the fading force and Ronaldo the talisman. A first half characterised by missed opportunities was followed by a second where he provided the spark which ignited the match, winning and scoring the penalty which put Portugal on the way to an opening victory. In doing so he has now scored at five World Cups, the only player to achieve this. That is an incredible milestone and it will have delighted those in the stadium who were there just to witness Ronaldo play. There were many, wearing Ronaldo masks and Ronaldo t-shirts, hanging on his every step.
The FIFA marketing machine was never going to let the moment pass. Despite some more wholesome performances from his team-mates, particularly Bruno Fernandes, the man of the match award went to the Portugal captain.
In many ways, an opening match against a team ranked outside the top 60 in the world was the perfect way for the 37-year-old to ease his way into this World Cup. On Tuesday he will find a much tougher challenge in the form of Uruguay. At opposite ends of the pitch an El Classico rivalry will resume with former Barcelona striker Luis Suarez keen to get one over his old foe. Uruguay’s defence will not be as accommodating as Ghana’s and Ronaldo’s resolve and temperament will be tested to the full.
In the intervening period the player will continue to occupy the back pages, with Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal already linked with a move for him. In some ways the circus surrounding the player can only benefit his international team-mates, taking the focus off them while they go about their own preparations on the biggest stage.
It was 1986, in Mexico, when a footballer last turned out for his country as a free agent. Bruce Wilson, a Canadian fullback, captained his country to three defeats. He was approaching his 35th birthday and the World Cup marked the end of his career.
Two years older than Wilson, Ronaldo has no intention of making this World Cup his swansong. The show will go on until he alone decides to bring down the final curtain.
