Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo with five Ballon d’Or awards which is the most ever won by a European player, is undoubtedly one of the greatest of all times. Moreover, he has the most goals and assists in the history of the UEFA Champions League.
For club and nation, he holds an incredible record of 867 goals scored in his professional career. Furthermore, he is among the select few players with a record of more than 1,100 appearances in a professional career. Over his career, Ronaldo has amassed over 30 senior trophies.
It’s crazy how Cristiano the midfielder has scored 867 career goals.
There will never be another Cristiano Ronaldo.
— Al Nassr Zone (@TheNassrZone) December 7, 2023
After having one of the most illustrious careers in soccer, it remains to be seen what happens next with Cristiano Ronaldo in his career ahead. With the way he is performing for the Saudi side Al Nassr this 2023-24 season, he does not intend to stop.
However, with the skill of scoring goals for his club and country, he has even been criticized for stealing them too. Fans have noticed his selfish nature and have called him out on 4 occasions in the past for this behavior. Following are 4 times Cristiano Ronaldo tried to steal his teammates’ goals:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo attempts to steal the ball from Gonzalo Higuain:
As Ronaldo was playing for Real Madrid at the time against Osasuna, Mesut Ozil put Higuain through on goal. Higuain round-balled the keeper, and as he was going to shoot, CR7, somewhat unexpectedly, attempted to battle him for the ball.
Ronaldo costs Higuain a Goal then Blames Higuain.pic.twitter.com/aAqdx9lcuy
— RJ32 (@ktp_fcb) December 6, 2023
Higuain stumbled and collapsed from his teammate’s challenge, the ball skipping out of play as an empty net opened up in front of him. What was even more astonishing was Ronaldo’s lack of remorse towards his teammate. The reason he tried to seize the opportunity from his attacking partner has never been understood by the fans. Luckily, Real Madrid triumphed 5-1.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo reacts angrily after teammate’s goal which he failed to steal:
In the 2014–15 La Liga season, Alvaro Areloa, a former Liverpool right-back, scored his first goal in Real Madrid’s 3-0 victory over Almeria. Also, something very unusual happened after Areola scored the goal and fans were left amused.
Bad teammate #Ronaldo is at it again… Upset that Arbeloa scored instead of him. #notcool 👎🏻 pic.twitter.com/xMpZeUMpxJ
— Evanglista Sports Mp (@E_S_Maple) April 29, 2015
The Portuguese player shook his head and kicked the ball angrily. Also, he was annoyed that his teammate—a natural right-back—‘stole’ the goal that would have given him his 40th La Liga goal of the year and put him two goals ahead of rival Lionel Messi.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo attempts to steal Bruno Fernandnes’ goal in the FIFA World Cup 2022:
In the FIFA World Cup 2022 match, Fernando Santos’ team defeated Uruguay 2-0, with Fernandes netting the two vital goals. Also, the midfielder for Man United opened the scoring in the 54th minute and finished his brace at the very end from the penalty spot.
Let my teammate score? No, I will put my head so I can score, even if I don’t know if im offside or not!
They ended up losing this game. 😭pic.twitter.com/4z4etxNNbt
— RJ32 (@ktp_fcb) December 6, 2023
For a brief moment, Ronaldo was given credit for his first goal even though it seemed like he headed it in before he started to celebrate. But once it became clear that Ronaldo had not assisted in getting the ball into the net, Fernandes was awarded the goal. Fans were left amused with Ronaldo’s selfish nature.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo puts his head in between Paulo Dybala’s strike which gets ruled offside:
During the Juventus vs Young Boys match in the UCL, the ball came out to the Argentine, Paulo Dybala, who was lurking outside the penalty area, during a scuffle in the box. Also, seeing an opening, Dybala used his first touch to smash the ball into the upper corner. But Ronaldo, his strike partner, was in front of the Young Boys goalkeeper in an offside position.
Ronaldo tried to claim Bruno ‘s goal and he even celebrated it 😂pic.twitter.com/hKzamy4cpE
— RJ32 (@ktp_fcb) December 6, 2023
He also strangely leaped into the air to try to get something on the ball as it was traveling, disrupting play. Soccer fans couldn’t come up with an explanation for Ronaldo’s conduct, as his decision caused a great deal of disapproval on social media.