Ranking Cristiano Ronaldo’s Biggest and Most Theatrical Tantrums

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Who is Cristiano Ronaldo?

He won the Champions League, the Premier League, La Liga, the Serie A and the European Championship.

He has won the Ballon d’Or five times.

He is the best international goalscorer in history.

Scratch that and remove the side note. He’s probably the best goalscorer in history, period.

And he is undoubtedly one of the best footballers ever.

He’s still a bit of a baby.

Ronaldo is known for his incredible goal-scoring ability, but his childish tendency towards tantrums is just as well-known. He is a perfectionist who plays with his heart on his sleeve, which is probably how he was able to elevate himself above most of his competitors to become a regular winner and one of the most recognized people on the planet.

That said, a Ronaldo tantrum remains hilarious, and after his latest fit in Al Nassr’s 4-1 defeat to Al Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup final on Saturday, The Athletics has rated Ronaldo’s biggest tantrums ever…

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Al Nassr 1-4 Al Hilal, August 2024

After Ronaldo put Al Nassr ahead just before half-time in the Saudi Super Cup final against Al Hilal on Saturday, all seemed well in the blue and yellow corner of Riyadh.

Well, until Al Nassr’s catastrophic second-half collapse, losing 4-1. In the past, Ronaldo would have been prone to a tantrum — comically throwing his toys out of the pram and throwing his arms around as his teammates watched one of the greatest players ever lose his head.

But he’s 39 now and earning a fortune in Saudi Arabia. That melodrama is over, right? Right?

After Brazilian winger Malcom had put Al Hilal out of sight with their fourth in the 72nd minute, it was Ronaldo’s cue to tell his team-mates exactly what he thought of their performance. The forward indicated that Al Nassr had fallen asleep by placing both hands next to his ear, then shrugging his shoulders as if to say: ‘What else can I do?’.

Yet the pièce de résistance of this theatrical display was when he appeared to insinuate that his team-mates had emptied their bowels in a gesture that doesn’t require much imagination to come up with. To top it all off, footage later showed Ronaldo storming back to the dressing room, opting not to collect his second medal.

Tantr-o-meter: 9/10

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While his stunts in Saudi Arabia blur the line between hilarious and ridiculous, this particular moment was definitely a “WTF” moment, but not in a good way.

Playing in front of a fired-up Everton crowd, especially towards the end of the season, is never easy. While the atmosphere and eventual 1-0 defeat at Goodison Park may have upset Ronaldo, who was booked during the match for kicking the ball into the stands in frustration, his actions after the final whistle cannot be excused.

After the referee blew the final whistle, footage emerged of Ronaldo walking down the tunnel and then knocking a mobile phone out of someone’s hand, causing it to smash to the ground. Ronaldo later apologized on social media for the “outburst.”

Not cool, bro.

Tantr-o-meter: 6/10

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Cristiano, you get the benefit of the doubt in this case. A tantrum was more than justified.

After picking up a loose ball in the penalty area in injury time with the score at 2-2, Ronaldo rounded the Serbian goalkeeper and tapped the ball into an open goal.

Serbian defender Stefan Mitrovic ran to clear the ball and chipped it away near the goal line, forcing the officials—without the help of the VAR system—to declare the ball a non-goal and play on. Replays, however, showed the ball had crossed the goal line. Ronaldo, of course, went red with rage. He ripped off his captain’s armband, threw it onto the grass and stormed off the pitch.

Even in his late thirties, it’s almost heartwarming how he still gets so hurt by being denied the glory of a winning goal. We don’t mind.

Tantr-o-meter: 7/10

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Ronaldo won the Champions League three times in a row with Real Madrid and moved to Juventus, ending the Italian giants’ 22-year wait for their third win in the competition.

When he received his first red card in 154 Champions League games after the referee found him pulling the hair of Valencia defender Jeison Murillo, it all became too much for the attacker.

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Video for viewers outside the UK

Referee Felix Brych showed Ronaldo the red card after discussing the incident with his assistant, and he couldn’t believe it. Ronaldo argued with the referee, gesticulated with his hands, shook his head and collapsed to the ground. He left the pitch in tears and had to be comforted by staff as he walked down the tunnel.

Ultimately, his red card was rescinded after the match, with video footage showing the incident was nothing more than a pat on the head. Still, the idea of ​​watching his teammates play in his beloved Champions League from the sidelines was enough to get the waterworks started.

Tantr-o-meter: 6/10

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Real Madrid 3-0 Almeria, April 2015

Now, this is a real Ronaldo.

It’s no secret that Ronaldo loves scoring goals. And since this event came right at his peak, every game in which he didn’t score gave Barcelona’s players (particularly Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez) the chance to overtake or surpass him in the race for the season’s top scorer.

With Madrid leading 2-0 at the Bernabeu, the game was already decided, but Ronaldo had yet to score. So when right-back Alvaro Arbeloa appeared out of nowhere to make a square pass across the penalty area and tap the ball home for Ronaldo, the Portuguese star was furious.

As his teammates rushed to Arbeloa to celebrate his first goal of the season, Ronaldo stood alone in goal and fired the ball into the net before walking towards the halfway line with the ball in his hand.

“I’m not angry about Cristiano’s gesture,” Arbeloa said after the match. “It’s normal for him to be angry; he hasn’t scored and his ambition is always to score.”

Tantr-o-meter: 8/10

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Portugal 4-0 Spain, November 2010

Apparently, there’s nothing Ronaldo hates more than a teammate stealing one of his goals. But while Arbeloa’s finish against Almeria was never Ronaldo’s to take, he had every right to be frustrated here.

Every time Portugal plays Spain, there are fireworks. And since Spain had won the World Cup a few months earlier, Ronaldo wanted to be extra tough on Portugal’s neighbors.

And how he almost did. Faced with a one-on-one situation against Gerard Pique, Ronaldo turned his former Manchester United teammate inside out and took up a shooting position in the penalty area. Ronaldo then scooped the ball over Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas and the ball sailed perfectly into the top corner… until teammate Nani came out of nowhere to head the ball in off the line.

But the linesman ruled Nani offside, ruling out the opening goal. In response, Ronaldo spun theatrically on the spot, punching the air, before throwing his captain’s armband to the ground and directing his anger at Nani.

Portugal eventually defeated Spain 4-0 in a historic result, but this match will go down in history (at least for Ronaldo) as the game in which Nani stole one of Ronaldo’s greatest goals.

“I touched the ball because I thought I wasn’t offside,” Nani said. “Everything happened so quickly. After thinking about it for a moment, I apologized to Ronaldo. It was a great piece of play and I shouldn’t have messed it up.”

According to legend, Ronaldo never completely forgave him.

Tantr-o-meter: 10/10

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Manchester United 2-0 Manchester City, May 2009

With United cruising to a 2-0 win in the Manchester derby, Ronaldo was replaced by manager Sir Alex Ferguson shortly before the hour mark. Although Ronaldo had opened the scoring with a deflected free-kick, he was eager to score more goals to ensure he won the Golden Boot with Nicolas Anelka and Steven Gerrard chasing.

Ronaldo was visibly shaken when his shirt number was held up by the fourth official and sulked as he walked off the pitch before throwing the jacket he had been given onto the floor of the United bench. Shaking his head, Ronaldo began to cry at the prospect of losing the Golden Boot.

Ultimately, the honour went to Anelka after he scored four goals in the last four games of the season. A few months later, Ronaldo left for Real Madrid.

If only Fergie would leave it on, huh?

Tantr-o-meter: 6/10

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Overall Winner: Portugal 4-0 Spain, November 2010

(Top photo: VI Images via Getty Images)