Former Atletico Madrid defender Alvaro Dominguez has hit out at Cristiano Ronaldo for appearing to mock Diego Simeone with his celebration after Juventus’ miraculous 3-0 win against the La Liga side in the Champions League.
Atletico had been on course to reach the quarter-finals of the competition after winning the first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano 2-0, however, a Ronaldo hat-trick handed Juventus a 3-0 victory in Turin to turn the tie dramatically on its head.
Following the final whistle, Ronaldo grabbed his balls in an apparent imitation of Simeone’s ‘cojones’ celebration which made an appearance during the first leg. Simeone was fined £17,000 by UEFA in the first leg for his celebration and Ronaldo could now face likewise.
Simeone didn’t appear to be too bothered by it post-match, saying ‘Surely he was thinking about his people when he did it, like me at the Wanda, saying they have personality.’
However, Dominguez, who started his career at Atletico in 2007 and played for them until 2012, was less forgiving in his assessment by stating that it was moments like that which will count against Ronaldo’s legacy once he’s retired.
‘It’s precisely because of such behaviour that he will never be remembered in history as a football legend,’ Dominguez told TMW.
‘Xavi, Iniesta and Zidane, for example, never lost time with futile provocations and heard applause in all the stadiums wherever they played.’
Ronaldo scored a thumping header in the 27th minute to bring Juventus back into the tie and then levelled it up shortly after the break with another effort from his head that just about squeezed past Jan Oblak in goal.
The former Real Madrid man then completed his hat-trick four minutes from time with an emphatic penalty kick and after the game, it emerged that he had told friends and teammates that he would score a hat-trick to eliminate his old foes.
After the game, Ronaldo said: ‘This was why Juventus brought me here, to help do things that they have never done before.
‘It was always going to be a special night and it was – not only for the goals but for the team. This is the mentality you need to win in the Champions League.
‘We enjoyed a magical night. Atletico were a difficult team but we were strong too. We will see what will happen.’