Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo have fallen out again this week – like two roosters in the same barn they have a history of ruffling each other’s feathers when the team starts to struggle.
The latest disagreement was brought on by indignation from the Tottenham Hotspur defeat. The players hated losing at Wembley with the world watching, and no two players hated it more than Ramos and Ronaldo.
Ronaldo almost never speaks to reporters after games but chose to break with tradition in London. He was asked to compare the current squad with the squad from last season and he did not hold back saying: ‘You cannot say that this one is worse but perhaps it has less experience, and we all know how important experience is in football.
Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo have fallen out again, like two roosters in the same barn
The latest disagreement was brought on by indignation from the Tottenham Hotspur defeat
Ronaldo spoke to reporters post-game and seemed to criticise Real’s defence, led by Ramos
‘It’s not an excuse but obviously Pepe was a great player, and Morata and James too, all those players that have gone made us stronger.’
Ramos was annoyed by the comments. Why speak out now? Why praise players no longer at the club to the detriment of those who currently wear the shirt? The mention of defender Pepe seemed to be a dig at him too, on a night when Madrid had conceded three.
Ramos had his chance to respond last week when he appeared on prominent Spanish radio football show El Larguero, and said: ‘Everyone has their opinion but the comments appear to me to be a bit opportunist, because when we won the Super Cup earlier in the season we had the same players as now. I don’t miss anybody.’
Ronaldo said Real missed Pepe at centre back – which was interpreted as a dig at Ramos
Boom! The ball had been thumped back across the net. Ronaldo did not respond publicly but privately Ramos’ comments have got under his skin and the word ‘opportunist’ is not one he is going to forget in a hurry. He was also wound up by another comment from Ramos in the same interview.
‘We all know what he is like,’ Ramos had said when he was asked why Ronaldo had not celebrated a goal from Isco in the previous game against Las Palmas.
Ronaldo made the goal with a fine run and cross but when Isco converted he was mobbed by his team-mates, all except Ronaldo.
‘He turns a bit “vinegary” when he doesn’t score,’ Ramos continued. By vinegary he meant bitter, although he continued: ‘He cannot be blamed because he gives us so much throughout the season.’
Ramos called Ronaldo ‘opportunist’ and ‘vinegary’ – which got under the striker’s skin
That last comment belies the huge respect Ramos has for Ronaldo – the respect is mutual – but the two most important players at Madrid play by very different rules at times and it shows.
Ramos is old-school in the sense that no player should be above the group. He doesn’t care much for the current wave of rumour and counter rumour surrounding Ronaldo’s future and the way it dominates the agenda when, he feels, everyone should be focused on getting the team back on track.
When he was asked after Spain’s most recent game if he thought Ronaldo was really off at the end of the season he replied: ‘You had better ask him. These sorts of thing pass me by.’
The implication is that what Ronaldo does or does not do at the end of the season does little to help Madrid in the here and now and does not interest Ramos at all. He has also talked up the possibility of Neymar parking up at the Bernabeu. Ronaldo interprets that as Ramos already thinking about Madrid’s all-time top goalscorer being replaced.
Ramos and Ronaldo have a great mutual respect, but they are two big egos for one club
The pair have plenty in common too. Ramos might not be so brazen about it, but he has created a certain image that has made him one of Spain’s most recognisable and commercially lucrative sportsmen of all time. He knows a top footballer is now about far more than what he does during 90 minutes on the pitch. His wife is the actress and model Pilar Rubio, and he has become the image of the Spain team.
He has also allowed dalliances with other teams and a prolonged contract wrangle with his club to dominate the Real Madrid agenda. Ultimately his flirtation with Manchester United in 2015 ended in a new contract at Real Madrid. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Ronaldo when the dressing room fell out with Jose Mourinho in 2013.
However there are key differences too. He has a far closer relationship with the Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, he has the unconditional support of the young Spanish players in the squad, and he sees himself retiring at Real Madrid as a player and probably returning in some other capacity once he has hung up his boots.
Ronaldo will be long gone by then. The two will be back in each others arms if they combine to score the goals that beat Atletico Madrid on Saturday but if there is another defeat then the wounds caused in the last fortnight will open further.
Ramos talked up Real signing Neymar; Ronaldo views this as him being replaced already