Why Xavi Might be Right About C-Ron

You know how sometimes a player says something to a reporter, and then what he says gets twisted into something it’s not? Well, this isn’t one of those times. Here’s what Barcelona’s Xavi had to say about (soon to be) Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo recently:

“I wouldn’t want him here,” said Xavi. “At Barça, we do not have room for players who fill gossip magazines. We are hard workers and sportsmen but he, on the other hand, is uncontrollable. We have a lot of desire to continue winning.

“The best player in the world is Lionel Messi and there’s no chance he will switch allegiance. We also have Andres Iniesta, Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o. With that kind of luxury we are capable of doing anything. This group has a strong mentality and why shouldn’t we dream about winning the treble again?”

Pretty unambiguous.

However, it’s been noted that this is the same Xavi who sounded quite keen to play alongside C-Ron back in April 2008:

“He could be a much better player if he was here, playing with us. I have a soft spot for him. I would love him to join us.

And it seems pretty straightforward to point out that Xavi changed his mind about C-Ron the second he signed for Barca’s arch-rivals. And I’m sure that’s got plenty to do with it.

But on the other hand, Xavi’s got a point. Anyone who has been reading the tabloids over the last twelve months will agree that Ronaldo’s off the pitch adventures have gone from mildly annoying to undeniably embarrassing.

And Xavi speaks from experience too. Remember what happened to Barca the year that Ronaldinho went off the rails? In 2007/8 they won precisley nothing. And remember what happened after they got rid of him? In 2008/9 they won everything.

Remains to be seen whether C-Ron really is “uncontrollable”, but I’m tempted to agree with Xavi that he would have been a terrible signing for Barcelona.

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Category: World Football