Sign up to get Today’s Best Articles in your inbox
Join 350,000+ subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of
The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Real Madrid's Champions League triumph in Milan has only served to polarise opinion on Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 31-year-old forward had a quiet game against local rivals Atletico Madrid, but stepped up to steal the limelight as he converted the winning spot-kick to help the Galacticos claim an 11th European title in a penalty shoot-out.
And he reacted in typical fashion to critics, branding them "jealous" of his success.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
"Addressing the world's media at the San Siro in the immediate aftermath of another famous night for his club, Ronaldo was armed with the statistics to prove that his powers are far from waning," reports The Independent.
Ronaldo told the journalists that not only had he played more minutes than anyone else at the Bernabeu this season, he was also this year's top scorer in the Champions League, with 16 goals.
In addition, he reminded naysayers that he had passed 50 goals for six seasons running and concluded that after winning the Champions League for a third time, "only the jealous" would not share his happiness.
"My performance is maybe not the best one, but who played unbelievable? No one," he said. "So it's tough, it's the end of the season, you don't have power in the legs that you have in the beginning of the season, but I did my best. I ran and we won. That is the most important."
Sign up to get Today’s Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the day’s biggest news and analysis – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Ronaldo often "gets labelled as arrogant because of his polished image and his elaborate celebrations", notes the Irish Independent, but he showed "his softer side" after the match.
"After picking up his medal, Ronaldo was the final Madrid player making his way out on to the pitch for the customary lap of honour but he stopped to have his photo taken with some wheelchair-bound fans, revealing his class extends beyond the playing field," says the paper.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"95750","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]Video by Connor Keightley
