Say what you like about Ronaldo, but this is hugely admirable stuff.
He had plenty of doubters earlier in his career, but it’s now pretty much undisputed that Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the top two footballers in the world right now and one of the best the world has ever seen.
While his greatness is widely acknowledged, Ronaldo doesn’t command anywhere near the universal admiration that Lionel Messi, his peer as the best in the world, does.
Yes, Ronaldo can be vain, he can be self-absorbed, he can be arrogant and sometimes it appears as if he doesn’t care about anyone else but himself, but footage that has surfaced of a speech made in the dressing room after Portugal’s unlikely Euro 2016 triumph this summer might change some people’s perception of the man.
In the speech, a topless (of course) Ronaldo is as humble as you’re ever likely to see him as he speaks of just how much Portugal’s success means to him, more than any of the individual honours or Champions League titles he won at both Manchester United and Real Madrid.
A clearly emotional Ronaldo thanks practically everyone in the room, including all the staff, but reserves special praise for the Portuguese manager Fernando Santos, who he singles out on a number of occasions.
It’s clear that there’s nothing staged about both Ronaldo’s speech and the reaction it garners from everyone in the room and while he is a little self-obsessed at times, it’s clear that being part of a team matters hugely to him as well.
Fantastic stuff.
