Cristiano Ronaldo is good at football. His desire to be the best is insatiable, and it appears that this desire is not confined to just the football pitch.
Following a recent defeat to rivals Atletico Madrid, the Portuguese star was quoted as saying: “If we were all at my level, maybe we would be leaders”, which caused understandable outrage.
Since then he has clarified that he was merely referring to his physical level of play, and that he is not better than any of his teammates. In doing so he has masterfully executed the ‘unapologetic apology’. Lets break it down.
First of all, there is the fact that he is clearly demonstrating he still thinks he is fitter than his teammates, which in itself has the distinct feel of a humble brag. If he was comparing himself to the average man then fine, but he is comparing himself to other professionals at peak physical condition. No apology so far.
Second, he has apologised for something he, and more importantly we, know is simply not true. Cristiano Ronaldo is probably the second best player in the world (I have heard that there is this Messi guy who is quite good too) and he is well aware of that.
In trying to retract that view, he nullifies all belief that this was an actual apology, yet still avoiding any further backlash.
It is pure genius, one that should be applauded for sheer ‘lack of shits given’ if nothing else. All hail Cristiano!
Image courtesy of Ludovic Péron.
