Real Madrid and Portugal legend Luis Figo has defended compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo after his commitment to the Bernabeu cause came under question.
Ronaldo enjoyed a star-laden 30th birthday party on Saturday night and appeared smiling in pictures and videos on social
media alongside his favourite musician, the Colombian singer Kevin Roldan, who was the forward’s specially-invited guest at the party.
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The festivities came just a matter of hours after Ronaldo delivered an anonymous performance in his team’s disastrous 4-0 derby defeat to Atletico, and news of the party has created a storm of indignation from Madrid fans who felt their star player should have been more contrite after such a poor display.
But Figo, who has been approved as one of the four contenders for the FIFA presidency in May’s elections, attempted to quash suggestions that Ronaldo doesn’t care deeply enough about his team’s defeat.
Those who question @Cristiano ’s passion for Real @realmadrid and his professionalism, completely ignore his history and his character.
— Luís Figo (@LuisFigo) February 10, 2015
One man who has been far less ready to offer public support to Los Blancos’ under-fire players is club president Florentino Perez, who was furious by their efforts at the Vicente Calderon and visited the club’s training ground on Monday.
Although no details of the visit have been confirmed, Perez is believed to have spent an hour in discussions with Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti and his players, reportedly telling them: “I want you to be the team you were before Christmas.”
Perez is also thought to believe that the players became complacent after finishing 2014 by winning the Club World Cup in
Morocco, supposedly warning them that they had allowed success to go to their heads.
30 years old! I can’t thank you enough for all your birthday messages and wishes! Thank you for your everyday support pic.twitter.com/EstFyDSEnE
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) February 5, 2015
He also emphasised the global nature of the team’s following, reminding them: “This is Real Madrid: you have millions of fans all over the world.”
The date of the next Clasico of the season has also been confirmed with the La Liga match set for a 21:00 CET (midnight, UAE) kick-off on Sunday, March 22.
