Real Madrid star Dani Ceballos has risked the wrath of the fans, after labelling former Brazil striker and club legend Ronaldo ‘fat’.
22-year old Dani Ceballos has threatened to spark an outrage among Real Madrid supporters, after referring to club legend and former Brazil international Ronaldo Nazario ‘fat’.
Regarded as one of the greatest ever strikers to have played the game, Ronaldo had a phenomenal spell at Real Madrid between 2002 and 2006. During his time with the Spanish capital club Il Fenomeno plundered 104 goals in 177 appearances, winning two La Liga titles along with a Spanish Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.
The Brazilian, who has won two World Cups, was adored by the Real Madrid faithful and Ceballos’ comments about the 41-year old will not have gone down all too well with the supporters.
In a recent interview with Radio Marca, the Spaniard was asked about the impact that star man Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure would have on the club. The Portuguese maverick left Real Madrid in the summer transfer window to join Italian champions Juventus.
And Ceballos responded to the query, claiming that many great players have left the Santiago Bernabeu before and the club have always coped with their departures, during which he went on label the 1994 and 2002 FIFA World Cup winner ‘fat’.
Ceballos told Radio Marca: “Before great players have left Real Madrid like the fat Ronaldo, Kaka… Cristiano has left, he is no longer here, but the team is still working together. The team is above all. At the individual level, other stars are emerging like Karim [Benzema], Marco [Asensio] and Gareth Bale.
“They are stepping up and throwing the team on their backs. Cristiano’s 40 goals are gone, but any of our forwards can do it.”
The Spanish midfielder joined Los Blancos from Real Betis last year, snubbing an offer from arch-rivals Barcelona. Having endured a difficult debut campaign that saw game time come at a premium under then-manager Zinedine Zidane, Ceballos admitted that he would have left Madrid if the Frenchman was still in-charge at the club.
With Julen Loptegui taking over the reins at the club, the 22-year old has stayed put at the Bernabeu and has made three appearances so far in the ongoing season.
While one can understand Ceballos’ situation, given that he was only trying to distinguish between the two Ronaldos, calling a legend, who has achieved so much in the game, ‘fat’ does come out as a touch ignorant and irresponsible. And it is unlikely that the Real Madrid supporters will let him forget that anytime soon.
