Cristiano Ronaldo received the Player of the Match award after Portugal’s victory over Croatia, but this decision caused intense controversy among fans.
Portugal overcame Croatia with a score of 2-1 in a tense World Cup knockout match, thereby securing a ticket to the next round. Cristiano Ronaldo continued to leave his mark by scoring for the Seleção, raising his total number of strikes at this year’s tournament to 3.
After the match, the 41-year-old superstar was awarded the Player of the Match title by the organizers. However, this decision did not receive absolute consensus from fans. On social network X, many fans argued that names like Rafael Leao, Goncalo Ramos, or Diogo Costa were more deserving than Ronaldo.
An account claiming to be a Ronaldo fan wrote: “As a Ronaldo fan, I have to say no, this title should have belonged to Leao.” This comment received a lot of attention, because Rafael Leao was assessed to have had a high-energy performance and made a lot of difference in Portugal’s attack.
Another fan mentioned Ronaldo’s determined playing spirit with a humorous comment: “A mood like ‘is there no one else?’”. This is considered an ironic way of speaking about how Ronaldo always becomes the focal point in Portugal’s big matches.
Meanwhile, another account argued that Goncalo Ramos was the one who deserved to be honored, as he scored the decisive goal to help Portugal defeat Croatia: “Ramos was the one who won this match, but okay?”
Quite a few opinions also stood on the side of Diogo Costa. The Portuguese goalkeeper made several important saves, contributing to maintaining the advantage for his home team during the time Croatia exerted pressure. A fan commented: “Portugal’s goalkeeper Diogo Costa should have been the Player of the Match. He made a few unbelievable saves, or maybe CR7. Congratulations Portugal.”
Even, a fan ironized FIFA for awarding the prize to Ronaldo instead of Costa: “Oh my god, Diogo Costa didn’t do all of that just for FIFA to give the Player of the Match award to their ‘special boy’.”
This is the second time Ronaldo has received the Player of the Match title at this year’s World Cup, following the match where he scored a brace against Uzbekistan. Even so, CR7’s statistics against Croatia were not too outstanding. He played 81 minutes, scored from one of his two shots, had only one touch in the opponent’s penalty area, and won his only duel.
But nevertheless, with an important goal and a large spiritual influence, Ronaldo was still honored by the organizers. However, the mixed reactions from fans show that this decision will certainly continue to cause debate after Portugal’s victory.
