Real Madrid triumphed 2-0 at the Bernabeu over Valencia on Saturday to come within one point of Barcelona at the top of La Liga. The match further elucidated the gulf between second and third and provided yet more evidence on the team’s dependency on Cristiano Ronaldo.

Starting on the right hand side and given the license to roam, Ronaldo hit his stride immediately. He hugged the nearside and stretched Valencia’s typically narrow defence, isolating the vulnerable Alba in the first attack of the match. This proved a recurring pattern of the first half as Ronaldo engineered chances for Guti, Van der Vaart and Alonso as well as testing a resilient Cesar from distance on several occasions. Real’s dominance turned into goals when Higuain and, inevitably, Ronaldo slotted home either side of half time to leave Valencia twenty four points behind their opponents in the league. Although in the context of the season it is an unspectacular result and an easily forgettable performance, the truth is that Ronaldo’s potency and continuing success is a broken record that the football world seems to find monotonous.

Prior to kick off it was released that the one millionth Cristiano Ronaldo number 9 shirt had been purchased. At forty Euros each Los Blancos have recouped almost half the astronomical transfer fee just on shirt sales. As if the pressure of such popularity had taken its toll on the forward, he netted his twentieth league goal in twenty three starts (his twenty seventh goal in twenty eight appearances in all competitions for Madrid). Though it is tempting to reel off the Portuguese winger’s astounding goal scoring form over the past four seasons, I would much rather colour this piece with some context.

Many would think it ideal that a player with Ronaldo’s personality move to a club whose ethos is entrenched in the celebrity of the individual. One would think that becoming the most expensive player in history, being welcomed by an unprecedented 80,000 madridistas upon his unveiling, and given the phenomenal short term expectations that accompany any business done by Real, perhaps his focus may have been jaded. Perhaps the media juggernaut set into motion would prove too much for just one player, however sure of himself he makes out. But as he has shown since his debut against Deportivo all the way through to the weekend display against Valencia, this man has an unswerving belief in himself that compliments the effrontery of his genius. His seamless transition from the Premier League to La Liga has been underplayed by the press in this country. I have been drawn into many discussions with friends who truculently suggest he hasn’t been a hit in Spain, that Real’s ignominious exit from the Copa Del Rey and the Champions League is indicative of his failure. Couple that ignorance with the domination of Barcelona (both domestically and in Europe) and the sumptuous Lionel Messi and we have Ronaldo’s brash brilliance relegated to the backburner of the football world.

A fact I find troubling is that given the truly remarkable performances of Lionel Messi over the past few months (though to any watcher of Spanish football, it has been the past two years) pundits, writers and fans alike feel the need to castigate Ronaldo whilst extolling Messi and fuel the ‘greatest player on the planet’ debate. In our attempt to quantify talent we marginalise countless factors that contribute to the success of each player. When all parties are retired then the merits of these questions can be analysed but, for now, instead of focusing on a fickle debate which is led by sensationalism in the media – Iniesta was dubbed ‘the best’ twelve months ago, Xavi was suddenly rediscovered as a contender by the online community after his majestic and commanding outing versus Madrid (as though he hasn’t been this good for the last few years) – is it not enough to simply witness such excellence and praise a player anymore? Messi’s brilliance does not sour Ronaldo’s class. The greatness of one does not diminish the greatness of another.

The truth for Madrid is that in a team historically made up of individuals, he has become the individual. Pellegrini began the season configuring a system that accommodated his new stars and as the games continued to roll by it was Ronaldo’s output and demeanour, his on field magnetism, and his startling potency that has established him as the heart beat of Real Madrid. The world expected him to deliver and it is now almost an anticlimax that he has done so. Arguably, nothing could be a finer compliment to the player’s talent; no one is surprised that he continues to perform.