Cristiano Ronaldo: Is He Football's Biggest Prima Donna?
Football has become so consumed by money and power that it was inevitable that we were going to be confronted with prima donnas galore.
So many footballers these day think they are god's gift and they always want their way, and it can get rather irritating for us hard working schmos!
Here I have put forward my top ten prima donnas playing today in world football.
It took a while to whittle it down to just 10 and I am sure that some people will have different ideas on who should be in there and who shouldn't.
Let's see who I've plumped for and I want to hear who you think should be included.
10: Andy Carroll
1 of 10
This might be considered a bit of a surprise entry on the list as he is not your run of the mill prancing prima donna.
However, I have felt it necessary to include the youngster on this list for a few reasons that have come to my attention since Newcastle’s return to the Premiership.
Firstly, he seems to have got it in his head that now he is Toon’s number 9, he is automatically the top dog at the club.
This is clear from the way he puts himself about on the pitch, especially that celebration of his.
Outstretched arms and a smug smile as he jogs over to crowd smacks of arrogance and it drives me mad every single time.
There is also the long hair that makes him look like WWE wrestler Edge (look it up – uncanny!) which just makes me hate him even more.
Not only that, apparently he’s gone and decided he is such a top dog that it’s ok for him to beat up his girlfriend because she had the audacity to catch him cheating on her.
Of course these allegations could turn out to be false, but they must be built on some sort of foundations to have any substance whatsoever and the fact that he has remained tight-lipped with no denial makes you wonder!
9: Luca Toni
2 of 10
Ah yes, the greasy haired Italian Stallion. A man who you just want to punch repeatedly until your fist falls off.
He’s pretty much exactly what you expect from an Italian striker these days.
He’s arrogant and he whinges when things don’t go his way.
Toni has one of those attitudes synonymous with prima donnas in the footballing world – when things go against you, give up and strop.
You have to wonder why a man who has averaged a goal every other game in his career to date has had so many different clubs (12 so far).
I’m going to assume it’s the man’s attitude, that when things don’t go his way, cut ties and move on rather than stick it out and get through the worst of it.
That’s why he’s considered a traitor at Fiorentina.
8: Nicklas Bendtner
3 of 10
The Arsenal forward has said a lot and so far proved very little.
Earlier this year he claimed in an interview: 'Am I one of the best strikers in the world? Yes, and I'll prove it next season"
Now look at his stats and in his career he averages a goal every four games. That's hardly a statistic that would tempt you to put the big Dane up there alongside Messi and co.
He's another one of those players who can go missing in a game and when things don't go as he wants them to he gets frustrated and starts to strop.
Maybe he would have gone on to prove himself right this season had he not got injured and now he's back maybe he still will, but as things stands his mouth's been writing cheques that his body hasn't cashed.
And let's not forget the childish squabble he had with fellow primo Emmanuel Adebayor during a Carling Cup thumping by Tottenham in 2008.
7: Nani
4 of 10
Nani is thought by many to be Cristiano Ronaldo in waiting.
Ok so it doesn’t look like he’s going to reach the same heights as his fellow countryman in terms of footballing talent, he’s no mug.
He has got the skills to pay the bills, but the way in which he best compares to his mate Cristiano is in his churlish behaviour on the hallowed turf.
The young Michael Jackson lookalike runs in a similarly poncey way to his fellow Portuguese and he throws himself to the ground and every hint of a foul, bemoaning his luck when the referee disagrees with him.
He’s also a bit of a poser too, always dressing to impress and constantly snapped sipping champagne with girls he wouldn’t even speak to if he weren’t super rich and famous.
I think the thing that cements him in this list though is his Ronaldo-esque penalty taking.
The stuttering, arrogant run up is enough to get you on the list. Especially when you keep missing them.
6: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
5 of 10
One of the biggest money transfer flops in recent memory has got to make the list, just for the fact that he thinks he is far better than he actually is.
Mr Zlatan Ibrahimovich, the Swedish centre forward, has now played for Inter Milan, Barcelona and AC Milan. An impressive resume.
However, the stats don’t quite read as favourably for the giant striker, who sensationally flopped at Barca after his big money move from Inter.
What makes his poor performances harder to swallow is the fact that he rarely seems to care at all.
He walks around the pitch for around 85 of the 90 minutes (assuming he isn’t substituted) and then whinges that the fans are on his back.
He has compared himself to some of the best players of our generation and he seems to be the only one that thinks so.
His arrogant and surly attitude put him firmly on this list.
5: Ronaldinho
6 of 10
I would just like to quickly point out that Ronaldinho worked his little red and black socks off last season for AC Milan but I still think he's worth a mention.
Let's go back to 2002 when the Brazilian was the hottest property on the planet after an impressive World Cup.
He had been courted by Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United for a good while and it looked for all intents and purposes that he would be pulling on the red jersey by the start of the new season.
In the end he moved to Barcelona with rumours that he preferred the night life in the Catalan City.
For a while he has unstoppable. One of the best players on the planet. Unplayable on his day.
It didn't last long though as he began to let his personal life take over and he began to put on a lot of weight and lost a lot of his fitness and his talent deteriorated.
He demanded to be played and asked for more money, but he didn't get it. So he walked out the door and for a while, did the same at AC MIlan.
Always came across to me as one of those player's who felt he didn't have to work hard as long as he did something that was good to look at when he got the ball. He also seemed to think his starting place was guaranteed.
Welcome to the list!
4: Emmanuel Adebayor
7 of 10
A Prima Donna list would not be anywhere near complete without the Togolese Princess.
It seems that it doesn’t take much to go wrong for this man to have a good old whinge. What gets him on the list though is his apparent belief that every bad feeling he has should be expressed publicly so that we can all see what a pleb he is.
In fairness it wasn’t always been this way. When he joined Arsenal from Monaco he became a hero fairly quickly. In the absence of Thierry Henry, he banged in goals left, right and centre, putting himself on the path to Gunner Greatness.
Unfortunately it didn’t last.
In his penultimate season at Arsenal the goals dried up, fans turned on him and he attempted to manufacture a move to AC Milan. What he didn’t bank on though was the move falling through and he got stuck at Arsenal for another year, where he was now a figure of hate.
He proceeded to bitch and moan all the way through his final months at the club, before signing a big money deal to move to money bags Man City.
After a good first season, Mr Adebayor seems to have fallen out with the boss and is demanding first team football.
For me, as soon as you demand first team football you become a member of Club Prima Donna.
Why any player feels they have the divine right to start every week, especially at a club where you compete for a place with Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz, Mario Balotelli and Jo, is absurd.
3: Wayne Rooney
8 of 10
I have to say that a week ago, Mr Rooney would have been nowhere near this list.
He does a lot of moaning and shouting at referees, but that wasn't a problem because he was one of the only players of his calibre in the world that didn't seem overly fussed about money. He was at the club he wanted to spend his life with and he wasn't afraid to say it.
What a difference a week makes ey!
He is now demanding an exit from Manchester United and he claims that the club can't match his ambitions. I find it hard to believe that to be honest.
Manchester United has been at the top of English football for the last 20 years and they have a trophy cabinet to back that up.
Last season they missed on a fourth consecutive Premier League title by a single point.
How can Rooney claim that all of a sudden the club aren't ambitious? If he thinks Alex Ferguson isn't aiming to win every trophy available to him, then he's either lying or stupid.
It sounds to me like the wallet is talking and all of a sudden he thinks he's too good for Manchester United. That's right, too big for the biggest club in the world.
He's lucky not to be top of this list.
2: Didier Drogba
9 of 10
This man came within a whisker of being made number one on the list, but I think there can only be one winner in this category.
However, the Chelsea hitman has made a good case for himself over the last few seasons and as a result he has found himself in second place.
Drogba is a real love him or hate him figure, with the former option being pretty much exclusive to Chelsea supporters!
Those of you who watch the Premier League on a regular basis will be familiar with his ability to prance around a football pitch, hit the deck with gusto at the slightest breath of wind, and moan and strop at the referee for as long as he can be bothered.
His petulance was summed up by one particular incident last season.
On the final day, Chelsea needed to beat Wigan to claim their third Premier League title, any other result would have seen them succumb to rivals Manchester United.
After half an hour, Chelsea lead 1-0, the match still very much in the balance, when they were awarded a penalty.
As Chelsea’s premier penalty taker, Frank Lampard collected the ball and went to take the kick.
Drogba though had other ideas.
He was locked in a battle with Wayne Rooney to win the Golden Boot and felt he should take the kick to give him a chance to win it.
Quite rightly, Frank Lampard told him the title was still in the balance and this was no time for changing the system.
In a strop, Drogba retreated to the half way line and refused to watch Lampard dispatch the kick.
He then spent the rest of the half shooting from unspeakable distances in an act of childish rebellion.
Unfortunately he then went on to score a second half hat-trick and win the golden boot. It sickens me.
1: Cristiano Ronaldo
10 of 10
It had to be didn’t it?
I’m sure there weren’t many people reading this slideshow perplexed, wondering ‘just who the devil is he going to pick as his number one!?’
However, if you were, then wait no more as here he is, the King (or Queen) of the footballing prima donnas.
Cristiano Ronaldo fits the definition almost perfectly.
He is arrogant, which is clear from his constant reinforcing of self belief in press conferences and interviews.
He is a poser of epic proportions. Pictures of him out and about and on holiday have done the rounds in the tabloids and he always has plenty of bling about his person. If he wears a shirt its barely buttoned up, he wears sunglasses almost everywhere and I’m sure we all remember the pictures of him in pink hot pants sporting a bizarrely dark tan.
He is constantly surrounded by a bevy of beautiful women, seen buying them champagne.
This is not to mention the prancey way in which he runs, almost strutting like a peacock around the pitch and the way he has a tantrum whenever a decision doesn’t go his way.
In every single way, Cristiano Ronaldo is the World Champion of Prima Donnaship and it doesn’t seem like that will change anytime soon.
The most irritating thing though is that he has the talent to back it up.
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