SUMMARY
- Fernando Torres hailed Cristiano Ronaldo as 'a big game player.'
- Cristiano Ronaldo excels on big nights. He has won five out of the six UEFA Champions League Finals he has participated in, as Fernando's depiction accurately shows.
Cristiano Ronaldo has a knack for scoring goals in important games. The Portuguese player especially thrives when his opponents count him out. His elite mentality and resilient attitude have put the 38-year-old in the pinnacle of the soccer world. Many legends of the game time and time again praised CR7’s match-winning abilities.
Fernando Torres is the latest name to join the list. The former Atletico Madrid player hailed the Portuguese as ‘a big game player.’
Fernando Torres:
“Maybe there is not a bigger game player in the world than Ronaldo and those are the nights that he loves.” pic.twitter.com/5dQywXnfL1
— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) January 16, 2024
The Spaniard said, “Maybe there is not a bigger game player in the world than Ronaldo and those are the nights that he loves.” The praise sounds even more special when it’s coming from a man of the stature of Fernando Torres.
‘El Nino’, as Fernando is fondly called was known for his blistering finishes and clinical finishes. The Spaniard has attained legendary status at some of Europe’s biggest clubs such as Atleti and Liverpool. Fernando has scored over 250 goals in his career and has a FIFA World Cup and a UEFA Champions League title to win his name.
Cristiano Ronaldo UCL Final stats:
Most Finals won (5)
Most appearances (6)
Most goals (4)
Most goals in one game (2)
Most Finals scored in (3)
Most dribbles in one final (12)The Greatest Big Game Player of All Time🐐. pic.twitter.com/WHszOJwvy9
— TCR. (@TeamCRonaldo) June 10, 2023
Fernando’s depiction of Cristiano Ronaldo is accurate. As El Nino put it nicely, Cristiano thrives on big nights. Cristiano has been a part of a record 6 UEFA Champions League Finals and won 5 of them. He has scored the most number of goals in UCL finals with 4 goals to his name.
The Portuguese captain also scored the hat trick in the UEFA Nations League 2019 Semi-Finals against Switzerland and scored a goal against Wales in the UEFA Euro 2016 Semi-Finals. Portugal went on to win both the matches and ultimately, the two tournaments. Interestingly, these two tournament wins are the only two trophies in Portugal’s history.
Fernando Torres, who applauded Cristiano has been coaching the Youth team of Atletico Madrid since July 2022. Though, he used kind words for CR7, Fernando’s relationship with the Portuguese hadn’t been this pleasant earlier.
Fernando Torres had an ugly spat with Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2016/17 Champions League
The two legends of the game were embroiled in a verbal fight that shocked the soccer fans. Both players crossed the line of decency in one of the biggest European games. It happened in the UCL Semi-Finals of the 2016/17 season between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. The first leg of the game took place in the now-demolished Vicente Calderon where goals from Atleti duo Antoine Griezmann and Saul propelled ‘Los Colchoneros.’
However, the game got heated when Real Madrid’s Isco scored the team’s only goal of the match. Cristiano Ronaldo looked more excited than the goalscorer who shushed the Atleti supporters. Fernando Torres who has been an Atletico supporter through and through, wasn’t particularly impressed by the gesture.
Fernando Torres: “When I was little, there was 24 children in my classroom. 23 of them supported Real Madrid. I supported Atlético.” ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/pDLqp9gN7J
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) September 13, 2021
According to the Spanish newspaper Marca (via Mirror), ‘El Nino’ confronted the Portuguese player by asking, “What are you doing?” He then proceeded to call Cristiano a ‘clown.’ The former Manchester United player then responded by asking Fernando to go home. However, Fernando had to get back at Cristiano and called CR7, “son of a b****.”
Despite the ugly spat, ‘El Nino’ has never shied away from paying his respects to Cristiano Ronaldo. Both of them are legends of the game who have mesmerized soccer fans for years.