Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo suggested after Los Blancos claimed an emphatic victory over Sporting Gijón yesterday, that FC Barcelona pair Gerard Piqué and Dani Alves like to speak about him so they can be cover-page news
FC Barcelona duo Gerard Piqué and Dani Alves have never been particularly shy to voice controversial opinions, especially against Real Madrid, and the latter was at it again — this time, after provocation from superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese forward was asked after Los Blancos’ 5-1 win over Sporting Gijón to comment on the FC Barcelona defensive pair, and Ronaldo did not pull his punches, implying that Piqué and Alves were merely seeking attention and wanted to be cover-page news (via 101 Great Goals).
Former Manchester United defender Piqué is known for his use of social media platform Twitter to ‘troll’ rivals Real Madrid and their supporters, but this time it was Brazilian right-back Dani Alves’s turn.
In response to Cristiano Ronaldo’s post-match comments, Alves posted a graphic on his official Twitter account showing off his trophy collection since his arrival at Camp Nou, with several laughter ’emojis’ and a gleeful ‘Good day’ greeting.
????????????????????????????? “Buenos días” pic.twitter.com/onrczT0xRY
— Daniel Alves (@DaniAlvesD2) January 18, 2016
Although undoubtedly amusing for the neutral, and fun for FC Barcelona and Real Madrid supporters, these silly spats are unbecoming of professional footballers — particularly those plying their trade at such prestigious clubs that are institutions in Spanish football.
Alves-Ronaldo rivalry getting silly
Dani Alves has never been a fan of Cristiano Ronaldo, it would be safe to say, and the Brazilian made several comments ahead of the FIFA Ballon d’Or suggesting that the Portuguese did not deserve to be on the podium ahead of FC Barcelona’s ‘MSN’ trio and that Neymar deserved to finish second ahead of Ronaldo.
Earlier, the Brazilian suggested that the Real Madrid superstar likes to hog the limelight, and must accept criticism during the team’s rough patch as a consequence. With this latest episode, it is clear that the Alves-Ronaldo rivalry is getting a bit silly.
It would be interesting to see whether either would have pursued this in such a petulant, childish fashion if the likes of Xavi Hernández and Iker Casillas were still at FC Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively. The duo had immense respect for each other and played a big role in keeping the rivalry from crossing a certain line.
That role now needs to be played by Luis Enrique and Zinedine Zidane, and these playground style exchange of insults need to be nipped in the bud as soon as possible.
