On the same day he was given a two year suspended prison sentence and a โฌ18 million fine for tax evasion by Spanish authorities, Cristiano Ronaldo has silenced the critics and produced a truly memorable performance against Spain. Oh the irony.
Ronaldo, who scored the 51st hat-trick of his career on Friday night, admitted four charges of fraud.
Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that last September, the player had offered ยฃ12.9 million but it had been rejected by the Spanish government.
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Spanish law allows someone who has no previous criminal record and receives a sentence of two years or less to serve it as a suspended sentence.
For some players the news might have affected their overall performance, but Ronaldo took it in his stride.
It took the Real Madrid forward just three minutes to get on the scoresheet when he was taken down in the penalty box.
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He then went one further and bagged again, but his hat-trick goal might have been one of his greatest yet.
In a similar position to his famous set piece against Portsmouth, Ronaldo used his all familiar technique to beat David de Gea, one of the world's best goalkeepers.
Just look at those stats.
Do you rank Ronaldo as one of the greatest of all time?
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Let us know in the comments.
Topics:ย Football, Portugal, World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo
