MADRID
Spain's Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has told reporters that he will refrain from speaking to reporters until the end of the season, apparently still reeling from his team's performance in last night's Champions League game.
Real Madrid were heavily criticized after losing out to German club Schalke 04 by 3-4 in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
"I will not speak to media until the end of the season," said Real Madrid star Ronaldo, who played a key role in his team's qualification for the next round by scoring two goals against Schalke, to reporters after the match.
The Spanish media argued that Real Madrid had played their worst game of the season. "Chaos", "White comedy," referring to the Spanish club's attire, and "Scary" were just some of the newspaper headlines in Spain on Wednesday.
Ronaldo was apparently furious after the game as favorites Real Madrid barely made it through to the quarterfinals. Ronaldo's brief conversation with his French teammate Karim Benzema during the match was captured by cameras. The Portuguese forward can be seen mouthing: "It's a disgrace." Benzema replied: "How can we play like that? They scored four goals against us."
Defending champions Real Madrid barely advanced to Champions League quarterfinals despite losing the Round of 16 second leg match to Schalke 3-4 in Spain. Real Madrid had won the first leg 2-0 in Germany.
