Cristiano Ronaldo's Most Infamous Controversies, Ranked

A €18.8 million tax settlement. A televised interview that ended his second spell at Manchester United within days. A red card against Ireland just months before his sixth World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo’s trophy case is not the only thing that has followed him through a career spanning three decades. Below are the ten best-documented controversies, named, dated, and ranked by real-world consequence — not vague summary.

At a Glance: Ronaldo’s Biggest Controversies

1. The Manchester United “Betrayed” Exit Interview (2022)

In November 2022, mid-way through a World Cup cycle, Ronaldo sat down with Piers Morgan and said he felt “betrayed” by Manchester United, that he had “no respect” for manager Erik ten Hag, and criticised the club’s ownership and infrastructure directly. The interview aired in two parts and dominated headlines for a week. United and Ronaldo agreed to terminate his contract by mutual consent within days of the second part airing, ending his second spell at Old Trafford in a cloud of controversy rather than the send-off his goal tally (145 goals across two spells) might have earned him.

2. The Spanish Tax Fraud Settlement (2018-2019)

Spanish prosecutors accused Ronaldo of four counts of tax fraud between 2011 and 2014, worth roughly €14.7 million, funnelled through shell companies in the British Virgin Islands and Ireland to hide image-rights income. Rather than fight the case, Ronaldo pleaded guilty and reached a settlement: a €18.8 million total payment and a 23-month suspended sentence, avoiding prison under Spanish rules for first-time offenders. He denied intentional wrongdoing, but the case put a spotlight on how top European footballers structure their earnings.

3. Smashing a Young Fan’s Phone at Everton (2022)

After Manchester United lost 1-0 at Goodison Park on 9 April 2022, Ronaldo knocked a phone out of the hand of a 14-year-old autistic Everton fan who was filming him in the tunnel, leaving the boy with a bruised hand and a broken screen. Merseyside Police issued Ronaldo a caution for assault and criminal damage, and the FA charged him with improper conduct, resulting in a two-match ban and a £50,000 fine. Ronaldo apologised on Instagram and invited the fan to watch a match at Old Trafford.

4. Shoving the Referee in the Spanish Super Cup (2017)

Playing for Real Madrid against Barcelona in August 2017, Ronaldo was sent off for picking up two yellow cards in under two minutes — one for removing his shirt in celebration, another for a perceived dive. As he left the pitch, he gave referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea a light shove in protest. The Spanish federation responded with a five-match ban (four for the shove, one for the red card), sidelining him for the start of the La Liga season.

5. Red Card for Elbowing Dara O’Shea vs. Ireland (2025)

On 13 November 2025, in a World Cup qualifier against Ireland in Dublin, Ronaldo swung his elbow into the back of defender Dara O’Shea as the two jostled off the ball. A yellow card was upgraded to a straight red after VAR review — the first competitive red card of his international career across more than 220 caps for Portugal. FIFA handed him a three-match ban with two matches suspended on probation; he served the mandatory one-match suspension against Armenia and remains available for Portugal’s opening 2026 World Cup fixtures.

6. Moving Coca-Cola Bottles at Euro 2020 (2021)

Before Portugal’s Euro 2020 group match against Hungary, Ronaldo sat down at a press conference, removed two Coca-Cola bottles placed in front of him, and held up a bottle of water instead, muttering “água” (water). Coca-Cola’s stock briefly dipped in the hours after, and the clip became a shorthand reference for the leverage — real or exaggerated — that global athletes hold over sponsors, even at events those sponsors are paying to be part of.

7. The Kathryn Mayorga Civil Lawsuit (2018-2019)

In 2018, Kathryn Mayorga filed a civil lawsuit in Nevada alleging Ronaldo sexually assaulted her in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009. Ronaldo categorically denied the allegation. A US judge dismissed the case in 2019 on procedural grounds after Mayorga’s legal team was found to have improperly used privileged psychiatric records to build the case; no criminal charges were ever filed against Ronaldo. The allegations have resurfaced periodically in reporting since, though the legal matter itself remains closed.

8. “European Football Is Dead” Remarks After Joining Al Nassr (2023)

Speaking at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai in January 2023, months after his Saudi Pro League move, Ronaldo said “European football has lost a lot of quality,” argued only the Premier League remained genuinely elite, and predicted the Saudi league would overtake leagues like Ligue 1 within a year. The comments were widely read as self-justifying given his own move away from Europe, and drew pushback from European players and pundits who called the claims premature.

9. The Portugal World Cup Substitution Blow-Up (2022)

Substituted in the 65th minute of Portugal’s 2-1 group-stage defeat to South Korea at the 2022 World Cup, cameras caught Ronaldo appearing to gesture angrily and mouth criticism as he left the pitch. He later said the exchange was directed at a South Korean player rather than his own coaching staff. Manager Fernando Santos publicly said he “really didn’t like” the reaction, and benched Ronaldo for Portugal’s following knockout match against Switzerland.

10. Obscene Gesture Toward Rival Saudi Fans (2024)

Following an Al Nassr defeat to Al Hilal in early 2024, Ronaldo was filmed making what was widely reported as an obscene gesture toward jeering rival supporters. The Saudi Pro League’s disciplinary committee opened an investigation into his conduct. It was one of several similar flashpoints with opposition fans during his time in the Saudi Pro League, part of a pattern of terrace confrontations that has continued to draw scrutiny alongside his on-field output.

How We Ranked Them

Entries are ordered by tangible consequence first — bans, settlements, and contract terminations outrank moments that were mostly viral or symbolic — and by how well-documented the incident is across contemporaneous reporting. Rumours and unverified social-media claims were excluded; every entry here has a confirmed outcome, whether a fine, a ban, a legal ruling, or a club statement. For more on Ronaldo’s record next to his greatest rival, see our breakdown of why Cristiano Ronaldo is better than Messi, and for the individual honour both men have chased for two decades, our history of the most Ballon d’Or awards won. For more from the sport, visit our football hub.