Girona Player Reveals Why Cristiano Ronaldo Refused Shirt Swap

Cristiano Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure as Real Madrid suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Girona on Sunday, and it seems he wasn't in the mood for swapping shirts after the game.

The defeat, which continues a poor run of form for Zinedine Zidane's side this season, leaves them eight points behind league leaders Barcelona in La Liga - already a substantial gap so early in the season.

And Ronaldo, recently crowned the Best Men's Player by FIFA, again struggled in domestic action and was clearly angry with how the game panned out.

Images: PA

So much so, that according to Girona's vice-captain Alex Granell, the 32-year old didn't fancy exchanging shirts post-game - his reasoning being that he didn't like the manner in which Pablo Machin's side recorded the famous win over the champions at the Montilivi.

Speaking on a RAC105 radio show, as quoted by SPORT, Granell said:

"He said to me that he didn't want to because he hadn't like how we had managed the final minutes of the game.

"He told me I seemed like a good player, but that he wouldn't change shirts with me.

"I said to [Ronaldo] that what we had achieved was not a miracle, but it was a huge feat. We had the experience from other years, when we've played a little bit too correct."

Four-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo has scored just once in six games in the league this term, and he could well be facing a second ban of the season after putting his hands on opponent in the game.

On a corner, Ronaldo was involved in a tussle with Pere Pons as both competed to get to the ball.

At first, it's as if the Portuguese captain is merely getting a feel of his opponent's hair to discover some new shampoo and conditioning techniques but he follows that up by scraping the palm of his hand across his face.

Ronaldo has already been banned once this season, missing the first four games of the season as a result of his decision to shove the referee in the Spanish Super Cup first leg win over Barcelona in August.

Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid, La Liga, Girona

Josh Lawless

Josh is a writer who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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