Euro 2012: Even Messi has his critics, says Portugal’s Ronaldo
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo vows to ignore his critics and let his football do the talking at the European championship
Cristiano Ronaldo insists that even Lionel Messi is not immune to criticism as the Portugal captain defended his performances at Euro 2012.
The 27-year-old has scored three goals in successive victories over the Netherlands and the Czech Republic after the Real Madrid forward initially struggled to find form in Portugal’s opening games in Poland and Ukraine.
Ronaldo, who netted 46 goals in La Liga last season, is refusing to be fazed by his detractors and vowed to let his performances on the pitch prove a point to those who doubt his contribution to Portugal’s campaign.
“The bigger star you become, the greater pressure there is on you to perform at a level acceptable to other people let alone yourself,” Ronaldo.
“Even Messi has his critics. You can’t please everyone. But I don’t get angry or frustrated by it.
“I accept it’s part of being a professional footballer, it comes with the territory. It takes a bigger man to ignore it and just get on with playing.
“I don’t have an agenda where I set out to appease critics. I just go out and play to the best of my ability.”
The former Manchester United forward insists there is a belief in the Portugal camp that Paulo Bento’s side can cause an upset against Spain and reach the Euro 2012 final.
“We’re improving and that’s important,” he continued. “There is great unity in our squad, we’ve a good team spirit and that helps.
“It’s been difficult to get this far, but we reach this stage with a great deal of optimism no matter who we face in the semi-final.
“Our objective now is to reach the final. Why not? There’s greater pressure on other sides in this tournament and we’ve been able to progress without excessive expectations.
“No matter what happens now we should all be congratulated.” 
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Read more on: cristiano ronaldo, Euro 2012, lionel messi, portugal, Real Madrid, spain.
