SUMMARY
- Cristiano Ronaldo has wowed soccer fans for over 20 years with his skills.
- Nutmeg, a term originating from Cockney slang, is widely considered to be one of the filthiest skills in soccer.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been winning the hearts of soccer fans with his impressive array of skills and trickery for more than two decades. Alongside Lionel Messi, Ronaldo is undoubtedly the greatest player of this generation and the all-time greats. However, there have been some instances when even the extraterrestrial Ronaldo has been proven to be human after all.
Nutmeg, a term originating from Cockney slang, is widely considered to be one of the filthiest skills in soccer. Some might think that playing the ball in between a player’s legs is pretty simple and is not very difficult. However, a perfectly executed nutmeg leaves the fans in awe and the ones getting nutmegged have eggs on their faces. Let’s take a look at five such instances when Ronaldo was left embarrassed.
5. Cristiano Ronaldo was nutmegged by an Istiklol Dushanbe player
The most recent humiliation suffered by Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch came against an AFC Champions League clash last year. Back in October 2023, Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr faced the Tajikistan club Istikol in the group stages of the AFC Champions League. Ronaldo scored the opening goal in what was a pretty comfortable win for the Saudi Arabian club.
Ronaldo nutmeg by Saudi player š¤£š¤£š¤£āļø pic.twitter.com/WORrBzHyPI
ā M10 (@maricelmf1) October 1, 2023
However, Ronaldo was mortified by an Istikol player when he was nutmegged with a swift touch by his opponent. However, that moment was probably the only part of the match that the Istikol defenders could enjoy. The Al-Nassr talisman scored a fantastic goal against Istikol, chipping the ball into the back of the net against the onrushing keeper.
4. Gonzalo Escalante’s trickery left Cristiano Ronaldo on the floor
The next instance dates back to 2016 when Cristiano Ronaldo used to play for Real Madrid. In a La Liga clash against Eibar, Ronaldo was humiliated by Gonzalo Escalante. The Argentine defensive midfielder managed to nutmeg the Portuguese superstar twice in as many seconds.
Nevertheless, once again, despite the incident, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid swept away Eibar that day. The Spanish giants humbled Eibar 4-0, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring Real Madrid’s third goal before the clock even struck the 20th minute.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo’s sheepish moment against arch-rivals FC Barcelona
While getting nutmegged is tough for any player, getting nutmegged by a player of your rival team is even worse. Unfortunately for Ronaldo, he had to be at the receiving end of such a moment in 2016. Ronaldo’s Real Madrid faced their staunch rivals FC Barcelona in a La Liga clash in the second and final El Clasico of the 2015-16 season.
During the 49th minute, however, the former Real Madrid star was brutally nutmegged by the ex-FC Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic. Ronaldo, who was performing his defensive duties, tried to press Rakitic near the Real Madrid box. However, a swift turn by the Croatian was enough for him to leave Ronaldo embarrassed. Although, Ronaldo had the last laugh that night, as he scored the winner for Real Madrid in the 85th minute.
2. Ronaldo was visibly upset after getting nutmegged by his teammate in training
In this instance, Cristiano Ronaldo was spared from being humiliated in front of thousands of fans as it occurred during a training session. A few years ago, Ronaldo was nutmegged by his Real Madrid teammate Danilo in a training session. The 38-year-old veteran soccer star, however, didn’t appear to like it and proceeded to kick the ball high into the stands.
Danilo nutmegs CR7 š±
Marcelo loves it š
CR7 š” kicks ball into the press box: “Now you have material to talk about for the next 2 days.” š pic.twitter.com/8XpMXt3HoC
ā Mā¢Aā¢J (@UItraSuristic) October 14, 2016
He was also even reportedly spotted complaining to his former teammate Marcelo. He said, “Now you have material to talk about for the next two days.ā Despite the incident not taking place in a match, Ronaldo’s reaction led to soccer fans sharing the clip of Ronaldo getting nutmegged by Danilo on the Internet and the video became viral.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo’s nightmares against Dani Alves
Among all of the players to have ever nutmegged Ronaldo, Dani Alves stands at the top of the list. The former FC Barcelona star shared several battles on the pitch against the Portuguese in some of the most iconic El Clasico matches. The Brazilian defender also has some special memories against Ronaldo, nutmegging him on many occasions.
Dani Alves actually cooked Ronaldo š
pic.twitter.com/qFxPr4TzRsā Toyor (@toyor_pr) December 20, 2023
The most popular video of ‘CR7’ getting nutmegged by Dani Alves is where the former PSG star does a deft body feint and turns back and dribbles the ball through Ronaldo’s legs. Since then, the fans have made several memes on this incident to troll the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. In addition to this, getting nutmegged yet again by another FC Barcelona player probably made it even more humiliating for Ronaldo.
