With constant negative reports of how Christiano Ronaldo has been allegedly behaving in his team in the World Cup following his controversial interview with Piers Mogan, his former teammate Mesut Özil believes the media is now witch-hunting.
Taking to social media, Ozil said that Ronaldo is using Ronaldo’s name for profit and that means even smearing his name in order to get more clicks.
“I really don’t get where this constant negativity from the press about Cristiano comes from,” he said on social media.
“The Media is just trying to get clicks, and pundits who don’t have a career anymore just want to get attention with his big name and try to make him look bad.”
His post comes after the player was accused of falling out with his Portugal coach Fernando Santos and was dropped for their World Cup clash against Switzerland.
The former Arsenal star further said that Ronaldo is almost retiring and people should stop pressuring the star to duplicate his prime-time performance.
“He is soon 38 years old – so what’s the surprise that he doesn’t score 50 goals a season anymore?, he said.
“Every football fan out there should be happy to have seen him playing world-class football for 20 years. I don’t think anyone from the new generation will be able to match his numbers again.
Ozil added: He will forever be in his own category. 
Everyone should show more respect to one of the greatest athletes in sports history.
