FC Barcelona: Delusions of grandeur │Courtesy of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Özil

It’s been a while since I addressed my two favorite loudmouths, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Özil. But the pair never ceases to stun me with their quite obvious arrogance/defiance. Cristiano Ronaldo apparently suffers from paranoia, how else can you explain a quote like this:

"Real Madrid are the best club in the world and [there is] a lot of envy" - Cristiano Ronaldo

Source: ESPNstar.com

Pardon me. What exactly is enviable about Real Madrid? Being the second best club in Spain, not Europe, for three years in row? Having not won a Champions League since, well, since forever? For celebrating the Spanish Cup, a cup that is just slightly more prestigious than the Carling Cup, like the aforementioned Champions League trophy, the elusive La Decima? Or the fact that Sergio Ramos dropped said trophy in front of the team bus? I just can’t tell. What prompted Cristiano Ronaldo to make such a proclamation?

Since the turn of the millennium (I always wanted to write that) Real Madrid has won four (read: 4) League titles, one Champions League and one Copa del Rey trophy. However, it’s been three years since Real Madrid won the Primera Division and almost 10 (that’s a decade) since they last tasted Champions League glory in 2002. It’s safe to say that Real Madrid hasn’t been the best team in Europe for a looooooong while. Meanwhile an ignorant group of Catalans has won five League titles, three Champions League trophies and one Copa del Rey cup within the same timeframe. But the trophies only tell half the story. The club, also known as FC Barcelona, didn’t start picking up trophies until 2004. So in reality, Barca has accumulated these trophies in the last seven years whereas Real Madrid only has three trophies to show for (two league titles and a Copa del Rey trophy). What exactly makes the Merengue the standout team of Europe? To be honest, I don’t know. Other European heavyweights like Chelsea FC, Manchester United, AC Milan and FC Bayern Munich have achieved just as much or even surpassed the accomplishments of Real Madrid. With the exception of Chelsea, who were just one John Terry-penalty kick away, each of the aforementioned clubs has won the Champions League since 2000. Still, you don’t hear any of those players running their mouths like Cristiano Ronaldo. This brings us to culprit number two, Mesut Özil.

"We lost the Supercopa in an unfortunate manner but both matches showed we are on Barcelona's level" - Mesut Özil

Source: FIFA.com

Hmm, not to say that I’m a prophet but I did forecast that specific reply a couple of weeks ago.

FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: El Clasico…the morning after
I guess. But the guy was awfully quiet when his side was humiliated 5-0 back in November 2010. Wouldn’t it be nice to hear "They were superior" for a change? How about that? When it’s close then it’s because due to unfortunate circumstances. When it’s one-sided then it’s convenient not to comment.

It’s never an issue of inferiority on the pitch, it’s ALWAYS something else. When was the last time a Real Madrid player showed some class and said "we have lost to a better team" like almost every Manchester United player did after the 2011 Champions League final.

"On nights like this, you need to be able to play your best football and we did not produce it," he said. "To be honest, I don't think there was one of us out there who can say we played well, as individuals or collectively." Their first goal was a bit of a sucker punch. We'd had a few good chances before that. "But there are no excuses, not on today's performance. They were the better team. Special moments decide these games and they were deserved winners today." - Rio Ferdinand

Source: MirrorFootball.co.uk

In the end, some players have class; some others do not, while a selected few are delusional.