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Cristiano Ronaldo 2023Getty

Is Cristiano Ronaldo ‘difficult or complicated’? Ex-Real Madrid colleague Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez on what it's like to work with Portuguese superstar

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  • Portuguese superstar now a historic great
  • Wants to be the best at all times
  • Does not make life difficult for colleagues
  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has broken countless records down the years – while collecting league titles in England, Spain and Italy alongside five Champions League crowns – as a result of his pursuit of perfection. Ronaldo has strived for continuous improvement over the course of his remarkable career.

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  • Javier Hernandez Cristiano Ronaldo Real MadridGetty

    THE BIGGER PICTURE

    Mexican frontman Hernandez briefly worked alongside the Portuguese superstar at Real Madrid in 2014-15 – as Ronaldo posted a personal best goal return of 61 that season – and has been in awe of the all-time great before, during and after that stint at Santiago Bernabeu.

  • WHAT THEY SAID

    Hernandez has told Paramount+ of his time in Spain working alongside one of the very best to have ever played the game: “I always divided it as the first six months being very complicated because I played practically nothing. Some unfortunate injuries arose and I was given an opportunity in the second part, which was extraordinary and unique. Cristiano was phenomenal in the locker room and also in his way of being. I don’t think I have met or seen a player, who has come out to say that Cristiano is a difficult or complicated person. Cris is Cris. We know his personality and competitiveness, but as a team-mate that is one of the things you cannot take away.”

  • Cristiano Ronaldo Al-Nassr 2023-24Getty Images

    WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

    Ronaldo and Hernandez are now plying their trade outside of Europe, with the former in Saudi Arabia at Al-Nassr while the latter is enjoying a fourth season with the LA Galaxy in MLS – with Lionel Messi now a direct rival for major honours in the United States.