Croatia Boss Zlatko Dalic Slams 'Egotist' Cristiano Ronaldo After Awards Snub
Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic has slammed Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo, labelling the forward an "egotist."
Luka Modric, who starred for Croatia at the FIFA World Cup and for Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League last season, beat Ronaldo and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah to the UEFA Player of the Year prize on Thursday. Ronaldo, Modric's former team-mate at Madrid, wasn't in attendance when the prize was handed out.
When asked about Ronaldo, Dalic didn't hold back in his assessment, per Sportske Novosti (h/t Thomas Bristow of the Daily Mirror).
"Ronaldo not attending the UEFA ceremony and those comments about Luka winning it...it is not worthy of my comment!," said the Croatia boss. "It only proves what I keep saying: Ronaldo is an egotist and I'd never want him in my team! He is the kind of player that only thinks, 'no matter if we lose, the only thing that matters is that I score a goal!'"
Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes reacted angrily to his client not winning the accolade, telling Record (h/t Bristow) that the 33-year-old not winning the title was "ridiculous" and "shameful." Mendes said Ronaldo "scored 15 goals, carried Real Madrid on his back and conquered the Champions League again."
Modric being awarded this prize ended a spell of dominance from Ronaldo and Barcelona star Lionel Messi in terms of individual prizes:
For Modric the recognition continued a remarkable 2018. The playmaker shone in the UEFA Champions League as Real won the competition for the third year in a row. He also helped Croatia make it to a surprise World Cup final, where they were eventually beaten by France.
As we can see, earning these two prestigious awards puts Modric in an exclusive club:
Ronaldo, who left Real Madrid this summer after nine years to join Juventus, would've been a worthy winner too, though.
While he wasn't at his best in the final and semi-finals of the Champions League, in the early stages of the competition he was exceptional. In knockout clashes with Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus he also scored crucial goals, including a remarkable overhead kick against the latter.
Ben Hayward of Goal suggested the fact that Ronaldo left Madrid ahead of the current campaign may have been a factor in Ronaldo not winning the individual gong:
After remarkable ends to the previous season and prosperous summers at the World Cup, it's perhaps no great surprise that both Ronaldo and Modric have had slow starts to 2018-19.
Ronaldo has yet to open his account for Juventus in their first three Serie A games of the campaign, although the Bianconeri have won all of their matches so far. Modric, meanwhile, only started his first game of the campaign on Saturday, as Los Blancos hammered Leganes 4-1.
