Former Barcelona striker Hristo Stoichkov says Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo is obsessed with his rivalry with Leo Messi.
Ronaldo has endured a difficult period in recent weeks and was jeered by fans at the weekend. He’s also taken a vow of silence until the end of the season and is refusing to speak to the media.
In an interview with The Independent, Stoichkov said Ronaldo’s attitude needs to change, and the way he behaves affects his team.
“You can’t doubt the quality of either Ronaldo or Messi. Messi is where he should be and Cristiano is going through a difficult time but all players go through rough patches. I was whistled as well in my time. It’s up to the coach to make decisions and to speak to the player,” the Bulgarian said.
“Maybe the obsession with Messi is affecting him but I’m not inside his head. Messi motivates his team-mates and, if Ronaldo doesn’t score, it affects his team.
“At times like that you have to display your personality; 99 per cent of players can’t answer the question ‘why am I being booed?’ Messi is at the level of Pele, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff and what annoys Cristiano is that he is only compared to Messi.”
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