Zinedine Zidane on the 2018 Ballon d'Or after Cristiano Ronaldo lost: "People can say whatever they want, but in 2018 Cristiano was still the player deciding the biggest nights in football. The Champions League is where legends are judged, and once again he dominated that competition." "What confused many people was the sudden change in criteria. For years goals, decisive moments, and European success were everything. Then suddenly, when Cristiano delivered all of that again, the rules seemed different." "I have no problem with Luka Modrić winning because he is a fantastic footballer, but football cannot keep changing standards every season depending on public emotion or media narrative." "When an award stops rewarding the player who consistently performs at the highest level under the biggest pressure, people naturally begin questioning its credibility." "Cristiano made excellence look too normal. Instead of appreciating it, many people became bored of seeing the same dominance."Mourinho on Arsenal fans criticizing Bruno Fernandes for how he gets his assists: 🗣️ Reporter: “Many Bruno critics, especially from the Arsenal fanbase, say most of his assists come from set pieces.” 🗣️ Mourinho: “I do not understand this criticism, my friend. People say Bruno creates from set pieces like it is some kind of crime. But Arsenal themselves are one of the biggest set-piece teams in football. So what exactly is the problem? Are they angry because they do not have a Bruno Fernandes delivering these balls for them too? Ask these same fans how many of their players can create the amount of chances Bruno creates every season. This is where football becomes hypocrisy. When Arsenal score from set pieces, people call it structure and coaching. When Bruno creates from set pieces, suddenly it becomes a criticism. For me this is simple: if a player keeps creating goals, I do not care if it comes from open play, corners, free-kicks or penalties. The objective of football is to score goals. And Bruno helps teams score many goals. That is why he is elite. Now for me, I just hope Portugal win the World Cup. And Bruno… keep your head focused because many people are rooting for you.”
