Nicolas Anelka missed the decisive penalty in 2008 which sealed Cristiano Ronaldo’s first Champions League trophy.
Ronaldo has since gone onto win the trophy five times in total, but won’t be adding to this tally this season, after an exit this week at the hands of Atletico Madrid.
Former Chelsea striker Anelka says he believes Ronaldo simply took on too big a challenge at United this season at his age.
Speaking to RMC Sport, Anelka feels both Ronaldo and Lionel Messi should have been ‘smarter’ when they made their moves to new clubs last summer.
He said: “Their careers are done and I think they are both very happy with what they have achieved in the last 15 years. They were above everyone else and now it is normal for them to slow down.
“I was more surprised with Messi than Ronaldo, I thought that Messi would go for a walk in France and Ronaldo would have more difficulties in England because, for me, the Premier League is the most demanding championship in the world.
“Both should have been smarter and this is what happens to players who want to play longer. They should have thought about taking on a less complicated challenge because you have to make the right decisions to end up on top. There are players who don’t hesitate to end at 32, 33, 34 years old so as not to be criticised. I stopped at 36 but at 32 I went to China.”
Ronaldo’s competitiveness should be praised
Ronaldo is now 37 and Anelka is right in saying he took on a huge challenge at United by returning to the Premier League. The demanding nature of the division is such that had he stayed for the last decade, he probably would not have put up quite the insane numbers he did in La Liga, where he scored more than 60 goals in a season twice.
Nonetheless, Ronaldo should be praised for not wanting to call it quits, and not being afraid of criticism, because he is still a game changer – as he showed against Tottenham this past weekend.
Ronaldo has 18 goals this season in total, 12 of which have come in the Premier League. This is still the joint second highest figure among all players.
The Portuguese player could have taken an easier challenge, sure, but that is not who he is. Ronaldo wanted to bring United back to their former success, and even though he probably did not believe the Red Devils were in as poor a state as they currently appear to be.
Ronaldo’s next step is unclear. His contract at United runs for another year, and he could quite easily join another team in an easier league, and take a pay cut, if he wished for a more straightforward challenge. If he chooses to stick it out at United, then he deserves full credit for that, as this time, he will go into it with his eyes wide open.
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