Cristiano Ronaldo is regarded as a selfish player by many football fans, but he’s made enough kind gestures to prove otherwise. Sure, the Portuguese forward is obsessed with scoring goals and does like to be at the end of a major chance more than anyone else in his team.
But that doesn’t mean he’s so obsessed with not sharing any of the spotlights with his teammates. Ronaldo proved how unselfish he can really be in key moments during Al Nassr’s 2-1 win over Abha in the Saudi Pro League game on Saturday.
With the Saudi club losing heading into the final 15 minutes, the Ronaldo masterclass began soon after. The forward scored an amazing free-kick from around 35 yards out to score the equalizer in the 78th minute and spark a late comeback for his side.
But it was the wonderful thing that Cristiano did for the second goal that won over hearts all around.
Unselfish gesture for Al Nassr teammate
In the 86th minute, Al Nassr received a penalty – with the game level in scores. Everyone assumed that Ronaldo would be the one to step up for it and win the match for his side – sending them one point behind league leaders Al-Ittihad in the table.
However, Ronaldo ended up walking away from it and encouraged his teammate Anderson Talisca to take it instead. He was willing to share his spotlight with the winger for a key reason, and that’s because Talisca is better positioned to win the Saudi Pro League Golden Boot than him.
Cristiano Ronaldo just let Talisca take a crucial penalty to complete the comeback for Al Nassr, Talisca is now only 1 goal behind the league top scorer.
But I'm supposed to believe Ronaldo is selfish and only cares about himself…https://t.co/izC0Gwas5q
Indeed, before the penalty, Taslica was two goals behind top scorer Abderazak Hamdallah – who’s scored 15 goals. Ronaldo wanted his Al Nassr teammate to catch up with him, which Talisca did by slotting away the penalty and celebrating passionately with him – with the penalty taking his tally to 14 goals.
Talisca: “Cristiano offered me the penalty to boost my confidence after my injury. He is a leader and the victory is very important.” pic.twitter.com/hNFG8m8SRR
Amid all the accusations of being a self-centered, selfish player – Ronaldo proved that he’s willing to sacrifice for his teammates when they need a confidence booster the most. This isn’t the first time he’s produced such unselfish gestures in his career, as he’s also remembered for a fond memory from his Real Madrid days.
The lovely gesture for Karim Benzema
When the Portuguese forward still used to play for Madrid, he was the face of the team. His presence in the final third often forced Karim Benzema to be a supporting cast and be more focused on setting up goals for Ronaldo than scoring his own.
That resulted in the Frenchman sometimes undergoing goal droughts, for which the Real Madrid faithful criticized him time and again. Back in the 2017-18 season, Ronaldo decided to support Benzema in the best way possible in a 4-0 win over Alaves in La Liga.
The French forward was struggling to consistently score goals at that time, with fans calling him to be benched. However, Ronaldo realized his teammates’ despair and uplifted his mood in that game. Benzema assisted Cristiano’s first (of two) goals in the game and immediately after his opener, Ronaldo gestured to the crowd to applaud Benzema for setting it up.
He then scored a second before Real Madrid got a penalty late in the game. Instead of assuming it to complete a valuable hat trick, Cristiano urged Benzema to take it and get on the score sheet. Karim did just that and fans were won over by how Cristiano supported a teammate in distress.
Ronaldo might not be playing in a major league for a top team anymore, but he’s not lost his value either. He’s playing at Al Nassr with the same mindset and determination as he’s done everywhere else in his career and wants to help them win all major titles during his years at the club.
