Search icon

Football

13th Jan 2015

Video: Cristiano Ronaldo urges Real Madrid boo brigade to go easy on ‘Gaz’ Bale

Ronnie is putting out fires all over the place

Patrick McCarry

Reminds us on the time The Fonz saved Richie Cunningham from bullies at Happy Days

Cristiano Ronaldo took time out, from collecting Ballon d’Or awards, to offer an olive branch to boo-haunted Gareth Bale.

The Welshman has found himself heckled by sections of the Real Madrid faithful ever since he blazed wide, in a league defeat to Valencia, rather than square the ball for Ronaldo. Speaking in Zurich, following the FIFA Awards, the Portuguese defended his team-mate.

‘Madrid fans are always the same,’ Ronaldo told reporters, ‘they are very intense, they show what they feel, they aren’t liars.

‘I think the things with Gaz are normal because they know that Gaz is a very important player for us, a key player.’

Ronaldo added, ‘What happened on Saturday is in the past – sometimes I commit mistakes too so it’s part of the business, part of football. I think the people will be nice with him and they should be nice with him.’

During the same media scrum, Ronaldo, once again, professed his love for Manchester United and its supporters. ‘This is where my career began. I know the fans of Manchester are supporting me all the time.’

He added, ‘I speak with Sir Alex [Ferguson] often… He told me to keep improving all the time. He said, “Cristiano, you’re the best, don’t worry about the rest.” He’s fantastic, I miss him.’

Manchester United Press Conference

The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10