Cristiano Ronaldo refusing penalty just one of six times superstar showed his true colours
Cristiano Ronaldo garnered plenty of attention last month when he convinced the referee not to award him a penalty after the official originally pointed to the spot.
Cristiano Ronaldo has shown his class on several occasions in his career (Image: Getty)
Cristiano Ronaldo will go down as one of the greatest footballers of all time with his lethal goalscoring record and self-confidence a huge part of his iconic career. But the Portuguese superstar has also shown his softer and sporting side over the years and Express Sport takes a look at six scenarios when he showed his sincerity and sportsmanship.
Ronaldo has won his fair share of penalties throughout his career and could have racked up another in Al Nassr's Asian Champions League clash with Persepolis last month. Referee Ma Ning pointed to the spot after Ronaldo went down in the box, but the 38-year-old was immediately honest and pleaded with the official that he hadn't been fouled.
Persepolis players were seen thanking Ronaldo for his honesty with Ning eventually overturning his on-field decision after also checking the VAR monitor.
Ronaldo shows class with Griezmann and Bale praise
As well as his long list of club trophies, Ronaldo boasts one of the best individual trophy cabinets in football history. He's won the UEFA Player of the Year award a record three times and was an overwhelming victor in the 2015-16 season.
But while standing on stage accepting his award, Ronaldo used the first part of his speech to lavish praise on Antoine Griezmann and Gareth Bale, who finished behind him in the voting. Both players looked genuinely moved by Ronaldo's words as the Portuguese star showed his compassion to his rivals.
Cristiano Ronaldo paid credit to Antoine Griezmann and Gareth Bale when he won the UEFA POTY (Image: Getty)
Helping injured Cavani off pitch at 2018 World Cup
The World Cup is the only major competition to have eluded Ronaldo's grasp in his career despite his best efforts and Portugal fancied their chances in 2018. Portugal were on their way to being knocked out in the round-of-16 clash with Uruguay as the South American side held a 2-1 lead heading into the final minutes.
Cavani then went down on the pitch clutching at his leg and Ronaldo showed great sportsmanship in helping the striker off the field. Portugal were unable to turn things around in the closing stages as they were knocked out of the tournament.
Stops Portugal bus to take photo with 11-year-old
One thing Ronaldo has been known for in his career is his willingness to stop and take photos with his young fans. Ahead of the Nations League final in 2019, Ronaldo was heading back to his hotel with the rest of the Portugal team on a bus when he demanded the vehicle to stop as he caught a glimpse of an 11-year-old boy holding up a sign asking for a hug.
Eduardo Moreira, who was suffering from complications due to leukemia, was invited into the bus by Ronaldo who stopped for a photo and gave the youngster a hug.
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Cristiano Ronaldo has been respectful of his great rival Lionel Messi (Image: Getty)
Defends Japanese kid for attempt at speaking Portuguese
Back in 2014, Ronaldo earned even more supporters for helping a clearly nervous young Japanese fan who was attempting to ask him a question in his native Portuguese language. Not many non-reporters get to ask Ronaldo questions face-to-face but young Ryota Iwaoka was given the opportunity to ask his idol a question and he wanted to show his respect by speaking Portuguese.
During his question, the crowd began to laugh but Ronaldo soon stepped in to defend his young fan. “Why they smile?" Ronaldo asked. "You speak good Portuguese. Very good. They should be happy because you tried very hard.”
Ronaldo paid respect to Lionel Messi in Piers Morgan interview
The GOAT debate will forever split football fans with both Ronaldo and Lionel Messi seen as the greatest by their ardent supporters. But Ronaldo has shown his respect for his arch rival on several occasions and spoke last year about their "great relationship".
“Amazing player is magic, top… As a person, we share the stage 16 years, imagine, 16 years. We share. So, I have great relationship with him. I'm not friend of him in terms of, what I mean friend is the guy who was with you in your house, speaking on the phone, no, but it's like a teammate," he said. "He’s a guy that I really respect the way he always speak about me. Even his wife or my wife, my girlfriend, they always respect and they're from Argentina. My girlfriend is from Argentina. So good. What I am going to say about Messi? A great guy who does great things for football.”
