For all that Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved during his time in football, he has always received one criticism throughout his career – that he’s selfish. Detractors have often pointed to Lionel Messi and how the Barcelona man is the ultimate team player while Ronaldo emphasises personal glory.
It is an unfair criticism, as while Ronaldo has the selfishness that all great goal-scorers need to have, he’s also an excellent playmaker with the vision and ability to create chances for his teammates.
Indeed, in the Champions League, Ronaldo is among the leading assist providers this term.
He actually only trails Neymar in the charts and in fact, his five assists during 2016/17 are a personal best for a single Champions League campaign.
Cristiano Ronaldo: Only Neymar (7) has registered more assists in the Champions League this season than Ronaldo (5)
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) February 15, 2017
This aspect of Ronaldo’s game was on display as Real Madrid defeated Napoli on Wednesday night.
The Portuguese superstar created one assist, setting up Toni Kroos for the goal that put Madrid 2-1 in front. He then produced an excellent cut-back for the German to latch onto after some good work to get past several defenders.
In truth, the great man should have had more as he constantly found teammates in dangerous positions, especially with a pinpoint cross which Karim Benzema failed to convert.
Although Ronaldo has evolved from a winger to a central striker, there’s no doubt that there is still more to his game than just goals.
