Kimi Regal@RegalKimi
Ronaldo is hounded for things others are praised for, especially Messi.
Take the nickname “Penaldo.” When you hear it, you’d think Ronaldo built his entire career on penalties.
The irony is that Ronaldo did not start out as an elite penalty taker. Early in his career, penalties were a weakness. He missed important penalties, including one in the 2008 Champions League final shootout against Chelsea. Back then, he wasn’t called “Penaldo.” He was mocked and criticised.
What happened next is what Ronaldo has done throughout his career: he identified a weakness and worked relentlessly until it became a strength. He went from being an inconsistent penalty taker to one of the greatest the game has ever seen.
Yet instead of being praised for improving a flaw in his game, critics began using “Penaldo” to diminish his achievements.
What’s even more ironic is that Messi holds the record for the most penalties scored in World Cup history, Champions League history, and La Liga history. Yet the “Penaldo” label is reserved almost exclusively for Ronaldo.
As Ronaldo’s goalscoring numbers became impossible to ignore, football discourse suddenly became obsessed with “non-penalty goals.” It felt as though the conversation kept changing whenever Ronaldo excelled. First goals were counted. Then the type of goals started being counted.
Ronaldo was mocked when he missed penalties. Mocked when he took penalties. And mocked when he became one of the greatest penalty takers in football history.
For many fans, that is why the standards have never felt the same. Ronaldo’s story is one of turning weaknesses into strengths, only to see those strengths used against him in the debate over greatness.
