Cristiano Ronaldo: "I Responded To 'Messi! Messi' Heckler On The Pitch"

When a few Cyprus fans decided to heckle Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo with shouts of "Messi! Messi" during Portugal's 4-0 thrashing of Cyprus, they probably weren't trying to make their team lose. But that might have been the effect of their incessant chanting.

In a press conference today, Cristiano Ronaldo acknowledged that, yes, he did hear the chants, and that he "responded on the pitch" to the people who were heckling him. He sure did: he scored twice and delivered a beautiful assist to lead a young (and Real Madrid-heavy) Portuguese side that looks very, very dangerous.

I'm sure this will all just go down as a silly anecdote, but it's pretty indicative of Cristiano's attitude towards heckling: it motivates him. Perhaps opposing fans should remember that before chanting "ese Portugués, que hijo p**a es"--Ronaldo has scored more goals than any other player in the world over the past year, so this kind of thing isn't going to rattle him. It'll only make him try harder.

And that's what people should really be afraid of.