World Cup 2014: Ronaldo Hate, Justified Or Not? [POLL]

With all eyes on the World Cup match between U.S. v. Portugal on Sunday, Ronaldo, one of the best players on the planet will showcase his skills. Despite his talent, there has been plenty of Ronaldo hate and the Real Madrid player is not a well-liked player by most standards.

Leading up to the pivotal Group G match, there have been a slew of articles detailing the many reasons to hate Cristiano Ronaldo. The 29-year-old is incredibly talented and arguably one of the two best football players in the world, the other being Argentina’s Leo Messi. Ronaldo scored 51 goals for Real Madrid in 2013/2014 and won the 2013 FIFA Ballon d’Or and will look to cap off a terrific year with a deep World Cup run with Portugal. Ronaldo is also the second highest-paid athlete, according to Forbes, and earned $80 million last year, second only to the $105 million earned by Floyd Mayweather.

All of the “CR7” accolades aside, where does all the Ronaldo hate come from?

As an article on MLSSoccer.com explains, Ronaldo knows he is an incredible player and he’s not shy about letting everyone, from fans to players, know about his skills or looks. Ronaldo also celebrates a bit too much and can be quite dramatic when it comes to diving or trying to work a referee for a call.

Many fans still point to the way Ronaldo worked the referee to have Wayne Rooney ejected from the 2006 World Cup match between Portugal and England. At the time, Rooney and Ronaldo were teammates at Manchester United but that did not stop the charismatic superstar from getting the English striker kicked out of the game. Adding insult to injury, cameras picked up Ronaldo winking to the Portugal bench after Rooney was given a red card.

Much like David Beckham, Ronaldo has capitalized on his looks for huge endorsement deals and even opened up a clothing store and a museum dedicated to all things CR7. As Slate points out, there is this great quote from 2011 in which Ronaldo explains why he is so hated. “It is because I am handsome, rich and a great player, because I am envied. I have no other explanation.”

In Slate’s look at the Ronaldo hate, they mention many of the same reasons, comparing the player to Alex Rodriguez and Beckham, but saying arrogance is not uncommon and point to Michael Jordan as an example. Another factor to consider is, as one of the best players, he can either be a villain or a hero. Unfortunately for him, Messi is an average-looking player who leaves everything on the field, notes Grantland. Fans have come to embrace Messi as a hero and a beloved player while Ronaldo looks like he was destined to be a football great.

The Daily Beast’s look at Ronaldo also mentions some other off-the-field problems and rumors which may have added more fuel to the “I Hate Ronaldo” fire. Of course, these articles are not meant to be taken too seriously and they all acknowledge the incredible amount of success Ronaldo has had throughout his career as well as his charitable efforts. Despite all the discussion of Ronaldo hate, the Portuguese player is incredibly popular and has the fifth best-selling jersey for the World Cup, reports Forbes.

So, is all the Ronaldo hate justified? Vote below!