Ronaldo has shed his arrogance and selfish ways, embracing a more humble and team-oriented approach.

Cristiano Ronaldo is having his 6th EURO tournament in his career. The match against Turkey marked the Portuguese superstar’s 27th appearance in Europe’s most prestigious arena at team level – more than any other player.

At the age of 39, Ronaldo is still great and still makes fans excited when he steps onto the field and carries the captain’s armband. But at EURO 2024, the audience seems to be witnessing a “new” Ronaldo, but still with the inherent greatness of the owner of 5 Golden Balls.

Ronaldo attended the 6th EURO of his career. (Photo: Reuters)

The simple pass shocked the world

Cristiano Ronaldo assists Bruno Fernandes with a wall pass like anyone can do. However, that moment caused a stir among football fans around the world.

Many times fans saw the image of Ronaldo angry on the field when he was not the main character of the match. Even when the team wins big, the media often sees Ronaldo’s dissatisfied expression, perhaps because he is not the one scoring.

Gareth Bale, Ronaldo’s former teammate, said: “If Real wins 5-0 and Ronaldo doesn’t score, he will get angry and throw his shoes in the dressing room.”

Even at the World Cup two years ago, the Portuguese superstar himself received a lot of criticism for his hair goal. The image of passionate celebration, claiming to be the one who scored the header even though the slow motion showed that the ball at most only touched the tip of his hair, caused CR7 to be ridiculed.

During the peak years of his career, Ronaldo was always associated with the stereotype of a selfish player with a high ego. However, the 39-year-old superstar shows a very different image in what could be his last EURO tournament.

Ronaldo celebrates with young talent Conceicao in a dramatic victory over the Czech Republic.

When young talent Francisco Conceicao scored the decisive goal to help Portugal win a dramatic victory over the Czech Republic, Ronaldo rushed to hug his junior. That is a very normal moment in football and Ronaldo has done the same many times in his career. However, at EURO 2024, that moment attracted more attention.

On social network X (Twitter), many fans praised this action of the 39-year-old superstar. One account commented: “Ronaldo has changed – it seems his attitude has become better even when he doesn’t score.”

The gesture, which was very normal, has now become one of the signs showing a change in Ronaldo’s playing attitude. It seems he no longer desires to be the center of everyone’s attention.

Ronaldo changed

Ronaldo’s entire career has created an impression of “stupidity”. The Portuguese superstar is often mentioned with confidence to the point of arrogance. However, before EURO 2024, fans saw the Ronaldo version as somewhat humble.

In his speech before the tournament, CR7 affirmed that he respects all decisions of coach Roberto Martinez. The Portuguese captain admitted that at this point, being able to play football is a gift for him. Fans are more familiar with such details about… Lionel Messi than Ronaldo.

Ronaldo celebrates with Bruno Fernandes after his teammate scored the final goal in a 3-0 victory over Türkiye.

Audiences who have watched Ronaldo long enough are probably no strangers to his dissatisfaction with having to sit on the bench. At Juventus, the owner of 5 Golden Balls was angry with coach Max Allegri because he was replaced. While playing for Man Utd, this superstar once left early even though the match had not yet ended.

At the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo and coach Fernando Santos were also rumored to have “not good rice, not sweet soup”. The teacher-student relationship went downhill when Mr. Santos put the team’s No. 1 star on the bench in the knockout round.

However, with coach Roberto Martinez, Ronaldo showed more softness instead of showing his ego. The former Belgium team coach also did not hesitate to praise Ronaldo’s professional attitude in press conferences.

Is it true that towards the end of his career, Ronaldo becomes more mature, playing for the responsibility of a captain, instead of the ego of a big star? From a player with a high ego, Ronaldo has now become more mature and responsible. Instead of pursuing individual achievements, Ronaldo is more team-oriented, putting team victory first.