Frustrated Cristiano Ronaldo Facing Biggest Challenge of His Real Madrid Career

Those closest to Cristiano Ronaldo will tell you that when he is playing badly you don’t have to let him know, because no one knows it better than the player himself.

His manner and body language for a number of days after a defeat and/or a bad performance are such that the potential consequences of the mere mentioning of it are such that it is a subject of conversation given a very wide berth.

While it may indeed be "bad form" to discuss it at the home of Cristiano, a home that is invariably filled with those family and friends that he likes to surround himself with, it is also safe to conclude that in recent weeks—with just two goals scored in eight games—the very discussion of anything football related at Chez Cristiano will have been nothing if not problematic.

A good friend, one unafraid of what reply he might get from the Portuguese superstar, could tell him perhaps that at the moment he isn’t running into the spaces enough, is struggling to take on defenders like he used to or does not participate enough in the creation of the play.

A close pal would also tell him that the signs are that he is looking like someone who for the first time in their life is beginning to doubt his unquestionable right to be at the very top of the footballing food chain, purely because he is finding himself unable to replace the limitations being placed on his game by a creaking body that is not doing what he has customarily demanded of it.

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That said, it would be churlish and irresponsible to pin all the blame on him for the downturn in Real Madrid’s fortune.

The simple fact is that this is a side with major problems in midfield at the moment. In the past, when they have been physically strong, they have shown they can cope well enough as demonstrated by the 22 games won on the trot.

When they aren’t, their limitations are there for all to see, with a lack of team play, no effective solutions worked on in training and no collective attacking spirit. The midfield drops back, the front men don’t go forward enough, and this absence of a collective game makes Ronaldo a lesser player.

What you have now, instead of the player that would terrify individuals and teams alike, is one who positions himself in the central area and looks to do his damage from there. He may well score goals from there but he will also most certainly be less influential in the game.

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Over the past 12 months we have only seen the best of Ronaldo from August to December. It now falls to him—no more, no less—to get back to his best both for himself, and as a team leader for Real Madrid.

Make no mistake, what Cristiano is facing is the biggest challenge of his distinguished career to date. How he copes with this crisis could ultimately define his place in footballing history.