Football to discover what real world looks like
Cristiano ronaldo pays his people at player agency Gestifute an awful lot of money to do what they do, manipulating his social media accounts and manicuring that image of his. so you have to wonder where they have been this week.
on every level, the sight of the individual in question grinning into his phone and offering a trump-esque response to Kathryn Mayorga’s testimony was deeply unattractive. ‘no, no, no, no, no. What they said today?’ ronaldo said. ‘Fake, fake news . . . i am a happy man and all good.’
there might have been a time when money was enough to make a ‘problem’ go away, though that is certainly no longer the case — and mercifully so. the courage of those very many women who stood up to Harvey Weinstein has paved the way for something different. ronaldo can say ‘no’ five times or 50 times but it will not erase the extraordinarily detailed testimony about the case, laid out this week by Der
Spiegel journalist Christophe Winterbach, which at the very least leaves him with questions to answer about the night of June 13, 2009.
We’ve witnessed before this bombast and sense of entitlement, when footballers face very serious allegations. Ched Evans’ behaviour in the company of a young woman was vile and despicable, albeit a re-trial found no criminality. Yet he sanctioned her vilification on a website.
some contrition and humility would have served both men well. ronaldo’s sponsors have made it clear they are less than impressed. Manchester United’s advertising campaign for tickets to see him back at old trafford sits a little uncomfortably now.
Juventus’s own utterances about his ‘great professionalism and dedication’ being ‘ appreciated’ and the allegations dating back ‘almost a decade’ are excruciating, too. the club’s shares are down 19 per cent since sunday.
Football, a sport which has considered itself beyond reproach and beyond question for so long, is about to discover what the real world looks like.
there is a reckoning. seems like it’s going to be one hell of a shock to the system.