Cristiano Ronaldo Hits Back at Media After Perceived Team-Mate Criticism

Cristiano Ronaldo hit out at the media after scoring a brace in Real Madrid's 6-0 win over APOEL on Tuesday and accused them of twisting his words. 

Per Marca's David G. Medina, he said: "I say one thing and you write another. So why do you want me to speak?"

ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan also relayed his comments in the mixed zone:

According to both Medina and Corrigan, Ronaldo is unhappy with the treatment given to his comments on Real Madrid's squad after their 3-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur earlier in November.

Per Sport, Ronaldo said: "If you ask me, sincerely, every team would miss their big players. Obviously, Pepe was a great player, [Alvaro] Morata, James [Rodriguez]—all the players who left. [in the summer]. They made us stronger, obviously."

The Catalan newspaper described Ronaldo's comments as being "critical of Real Madrid's transfer policy," after the trio were allowed to leave while Los Blancos' only arrivals, Theo Hernandez and Dani Ceballos, are just 20 and 21, respectively.

Ronaldo added "it is not a worse squad, but it has less experience," per Marca.

His comments nevertheless led to a public disagreement with Real captain Sergio Ramos, who told Cadena Ser (h/t Marca): "I don't agree with him that the squad is weaker, it seems to be an opportunistic opinion."

Corrigan gave his take:

While Ronaldo was not being especially critical of his team-mates, the fact they're already 10 points behind a Barcelona side who were in disarray in the summer following Neymar's departure speaks volumes.

His own poor form has contributed to that, as he has netted just once in La Liga this season. Fortunately for Los Blancos his UEFA Champions League form has been quite different, and he now has eight in the competition, and he also achieved yet another milestone on Tuesday:

"

Cristiano Ronaldo can't stop breaking records. pic.twitter.com/M0QDKMAk9n

— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 21, 2017"

The ability to rotate the likes of Morata, Rodriguez and Pepe was a key factor in Real winning the double last season, so it appears to have been a misstep to let them all go in the summer while doing little to replace them.

However, the form of those remaining largely has not been good enough, and there's plenty of room for them to improve before additions can be made in the transfer window.