As a fan it’s easy to dislike a player because of their antics or body language, and that’s especially true if they happen to play for a rival team or country.
You don’t expect that to be the case with the players themselves, but it sounds like it may be true.
Marca reported on an interview with Juventus star Paulo Dybala, and it seems he was fully prepared to dislike Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s possible that it also had something to do with his rivalry with Argentine great Lionel Messi, but Dybala has backed down and seems to like Ronaldo after getting to know him:
“I said to him: Cristiano, in Argentina, we hate you a bit because of your figure, because of how you are, of how you walk. The truth is that, you’ve surprised me because I’ve found you to be different.”
READ MORE: Star defender regrets not joining Barcelona and hopes to put that right this Summer
It does seem to be fairly common that everyone wants to dislike Ronaldo for his success and tendency to make it all about him, but then we keep hearing stories about his humility and the great character.
It’s possible that his desire to win can make him thoroughly unlikable on the pitch, but off it he does come across as much more normal and likeable.