Who is guilty for Cristiano Ronaldo’s ankle injury which has ruled him out of active football for up to four weeks?

Real Madrid claim that Portugal should take the blame as they featured Ronaldo against Hungary whereas the player was not totally fit.

However, there is someone else out there who feels culpable. It is no other person than Marseille’s Souleymane Diawara.

The defender is the cause behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s ankle injury. Proofs take us back to September 30, 2009 when Real Madrid hosted French Ligue 1’s champions Marseille in a Champions League fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid were already leading 1-0 thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal which broke down Marseille’s strong defense on the night. Los Blancos went on to double their tally quickly after through a penalty that was won by man-of-the-match Cristiano Ronaldo.

Unfortunately though, the Portuguese talisman did that at a huge cost. The referee’s decision to award a penalty quickly came after Marseille’s Souleymane Diawara made a heavy tackle on Ronaldo. Now, despite cameras showing that Diawara somehow got a slice of the ball, it was obvious that the defender’s foot recklessly squeezed Ronaldo’s ankle.

Ronaldo couldn’t last more than 70 minutes on the field so he had to be substituted. In reality, the 68 minutes of playing time that Ronaldo enjoyed against Marseille were his last for Real Madrid. He might have to wait until November maybe before returning on the field for Los Blancos.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s accused, Souleymane Diawara, has finally realized the extent of his bad action. At the moment when the incident occurred during the game, the defender was seen protesting against the referee who flashed him a second yellow card and thus a red.

Now, Souleymane Diawara accepts the criticism from the media and the public. He told the AS:

“The truth is that everything has ended up being more serious than we thought.

“It’s weird to see my name out in the press for this reason… but I understand.

“I did have a dream to mark Kaka or Cristiano. My dream came true. But because of the defeat, and everything that happened with Cristiano, it became something gray.”

Souleymane Diawara also reflected on the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo for a period of time. He continued:

“Being without a player like Cristiano is something that weighs heavily on a team. He is the player of the moment in football.

“I regret the damage my tackle has done and I hope he will recover as soon as possible.

“Football will miss him.”

Many fans of Cristiano Ronaldo may hate Souleymane Diawara for taking such a long time to apologize publicly.

However, the Marseille defender explained that he tried at many occasions to apologize directly to Cristiano Ronaldo but failed reach the player.

He explained:

“I could not talk to him directly but I’ve tried. In the second leg at the Vélodrome, I am sure I will approach him to shake his hand and ask how everything goes.”

He finally concluded:

“I really hope he will recover as quickly as possible.”

In Cristiano Ronaldo Fan’s poll today, I ask:

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