Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has leapt to the defence of his former player Cristiano Ronaldo amid the recent problems the forward is having with both club and country.
The 37-year-old has been in the news a lot lately for all the wrong reasons and his actions recently saw him essentially sacked by his last club Manchester United.
This has now carried over into the Portugal national team as Ronaldo was dropped for his team’s last-16 clash with Switzerland, which they dominated 6-1 and his replacement Goncalo Ramos scored a hat-trick.
The negative stories surrounding that were Ronaldo’s reaction to Portugal’s first goal, not celebrating with his teammates after the match and he didn’t train with the subs during yesterday’s session.
Despite all of this, his former manager at Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti, has leapt to his defence.
Carlo Ancelotti defends Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent behaviour
“Ronaldo probably still feels in his 20s because he’s fine, he’s got the answers he’s looking for in his body,” Ancelotti told Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport via the Evening Standard.
“The competition has become tough.
“I’ve coached him (Ronaldo) for two years and there were no problems. In fact he solved them for me. Cristiano trains well, he pays attention to detail, and everything was easy for me to manage. He is an exceptional player.”
The Real Madrid manager seems to suggest that Ronaldo’s brain knows exactly what it needs to do but the body won’t keep up despite how fit he is. His managers see that and this is the source of the 37-year-old’s frustration as it is stopping him from playing at the level he once was.