Four years on and Mourinho finally finds some love for Ronaldo
Published:How times change.
Rewind back four years and the best Cristiano Ronaldo could expect by way of a compliment was that he was a “good player”, despite scoring 42 goals in the previous season and helping Manchester United win the Champions League.
In fact, Mourinho went as far to say that there were at least three better players in the world – Lionel Messi, Kaka and Zlatan Ibrahimovic – and surprise surprise, it was his luxury Swede at Inter Milan that was rated top of the pile.
Mourinho is now enjoying the fruits of Ronaldo’s goals as the Portuguese forward is performing a similar role at Real Madrid to that he previously showcased at Old Trafford.
The only difference is that Mourinho suddenly has a new found appreciation for Ronaldo’s talents, conveniently when he is the one profiting from them.
Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova recently stated that Lionel Messi was not only the best player in world football at present, but was so by a wide margin.
Mourinho’s comeback is somewhat similar to that of a nine-year-old, as in his opinion if Messi is the best player in the world, then that makes Ronaldo the best player in the universe.
Meanwhile, he added that “it would be a crime” if Ronaldo’s efforts were not rewarded with the Ballon d’Or, especially as Real Madrid took the La Liga title last season.
This time he does seem to have a better point, as despite Messi’s goals, Barcelona failed to win anything significant last season.
However, it is not up to Mourinho which player takes the Ballon d’Or, with Messi bidding to scoop the award for the fourth year in succession.
Messi remains favourite to win the award at 4/5 despite his lack of big trophies, with Ronaldo available at 7/4.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
