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The Portuguese forward may not have chosen his words correctly in the aftermath of the derby defeat against Atletico, but stats show he is right to bemoan the club's injury issues
Cristiano Ronaldo has had some explaining to do. First to the press on Saturday after his clumsy comments that "if all the players were at my level, we would be top", and then to his team-mates on Monday. However, the underlying message was correct: injuries have hurt Real Madrid in 2015-16.
The three-time Ballon d'Or winner surprised journalists in the mixed zone at the Santiago Bernabeu after the derby defeat against Atletico on Saturday, but he had not expressed himself quite as he had wanted and came out to rectify later on. Nevertheless, he still had to clear the air with his team-mates at Madrid training on Monday morning.
No problem. Coach Zinedine Zidane revealed on Tuesday that the matter is now closed and it is worth analysing what Ronaldo really wanted to say. After all, when the Portuguese speaks, it is usually when he has something important to say.
“My comments were misinterpreted after the game," he later told AS. "I wasn't saying that I'm better than everyone else. I was referring to injuries. The team have lost a lot of important players through injury like Pepe, [Gareth] Bale, [Karim] Benzema, Marcelo...
"That has harmed us and prevented us from reaching our usual level. I have the utmost respect for my team-mates and I would never want to offend them. I don't consider myself better than anyone."
And the stats show he has a point. As usual, Ronaldo has played almost every minute of every game for Madrid in the current campaign and even though he has not been at his brilliant best in 2015-16, he has rarely played with both Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema together. And when he has, they have often been returning from a spell on the sidelines, short of fitness or subsequently suffered a fresh injury.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi spent almost two months out earlier this term, but the Argentine has still played 30 games in 2015-16 and appeared alongside Luis Suarez and Neymar in 23, with the three completing the 90 minutes in 18 of those. Overall, Barca's talented trident has played a combined 106 games and a total of 9,355 minutes.
Madrid's BBC have been less lucky. Ronaldo has played 33 matches, but Bale has featured in just 17 and Benzema in 25 for a combined 75. In total, the trio have played in 14 games together but have all completed 90 minutes in only two of those (one was the 4-0 loss at home to Barca when the Frenchman was brought back in after six weeks out; the other a 1-0 defeat at Villarreal). In total, they have played a combined 6,072 minutes (just under 65 per cent of those completed by Barca's MSN).
On top of that, Blaugrana boss Luis Enrique has rested his forwards on occasion, when games have come thick and fast. Rafa Benitez and now Zidane have rarely been able to do the same, however, because of frequent injuries to Bale and Benzema.
The France forward returned for Real against Atleti at the weekend but limped off at half-time and is now set for another spell on the sidelines with a thigh injury. Meanwhile, Bale is back in training after another lengthy absence with a calf problem, although the Welsh winger will not feature in Wednesday's trip to Levante.
An upheaval with Madrid's medical staff has upset several star players at the club and the sheer amount of muscle injuries this term is a clear indication that all is not well in that department.
By comparison, Barca's forwards have steered clear of injuries since Messi returned from the knee problem that kept him out through October and most of November. And the priority, as Luis Enrique has said, is for his players to hit their physical peak at the business end of the season.
Madrid will now hope for something similar. La Liga is already almost certainly gone for Zidane's men, with Saturday's derby defeat leaving Real 12 points adrift of Barca with just 12 games remaining, but Los Blancos continue to dream of claiming the Champions League in May.
It appears a tall order on current form and will be even more so if key players like Bale and Benzema are sidelined. If they are available, however, this is a team that is capable of beating any other when everything clicks.
So Ronaldo is right about that: without their best players, it is extremely difficult for Madrid - or any team for that matter - to win trophies. And with one objective left in the remainder of this season, Real will now hope for some better luck with injuries to their finest footballers over the coming weeks, before looking ahead to some proper pre-season planning to avoid an unwanted repeat of the same sorry situation in 2016-17.
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