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Nov 17, 2015

‘Ronaldo’ – The Man Behind the Scowl

by Patrick Hazard

Ronaldo

This week saw the release of ‘Ronaldo’ – a new film based on the life of Real Madrid’s prolific front-man. The Portuguese had a camera crew following him around over a year, and when one thinks about the level of invasion that scenario would be bound to cause, the first thought most people have is: “why?”

It’s no secret that Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t need the money – he is after all earning a reported £300,000 a week at the Bernabeu (and that figure doesn’t take into account his personal sponsorship or modelling contracts) – so what could have possibly motivated him to allow even the slightest possibility of disrupting what seems to be the perfect life?

However, when one considers that the man behind this movie is none other than James Gay-Rees (the creative mind behind the much-lauded and critically-acclaimed biopic, ‘Senna’ as well as a major contributor to ‘Amy’ – a documentary based on the British soul artist), it all starts to become clear: this is about leaving a legacy that stretches beyond mere numbers on a bank account or statistics in the record books. This is his chance to show the public what makes him so special.

Ultimately what comes across over the course of an hour and forty-two minutes is a man’s determination to be the absolute best in his field, regardless of the sacrifices this achievement may require. He is ultimately a deeply private character, who surrounds himself with only his family and a few close friends – and his commitment to training borders on the obsessive. Those free-kicks don’t just happen: he works and he works and he works.

Perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions about the former Manchester United and Sporting Lisbon winger is that he is arrogant – a point emphasised by his recent claim that he believes himself to be a better player than his long-standing rival, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.

The pair next come head-to-head when the two players’ respective teams meet on November 21st at the Bernabeu, and given both players’ almost freakish scoring record over the course of their careers, rather than asking if either player will hit the back of the net, many will be placing money on who’ll score first. As always, Betway will be offering up-to-the-minute odds on both the result and first goal scorer – just don’t expect to be in the minority if you bet on Ronaldo after he scored in both league fixtures last season.

Between he and Messi, the pair have won the last seven Ballon d’Or awards – given to the player voted as the world’s number one by a panel of respected journalists – and as such there can be little doubt that one of them is truly the best. But regardless of results, ‘Ronaldo’ has given the Real Madrid man a platform to showcase his personality like Messi never has – and that is how great players become sporting legends.

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