Manchester United legend Paul Scholes wasn't surprised by Cristiano Ronaldo's red card for Real Madrid last week. Ronaldo was sent off during victory over Cordoba.
Scholes wrote in the London Evening Standard: "I was in the United team the night that Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off for going head-to-head with Richard Hughes in a game against Portsmouth at Fratton Park in 2007.
"Like a lot of very good players, Cristiano had to take a lot of stick from opponents and for the most part he took it well and got on with the game. But as with all of us, there is a breaking point and it seemed like he reached it again with his sending off against Cordoba.
"In England, he would get the worst of it from players like Ben Thatcher and Michael Ball when we played Manchester City. He did well not to react. These days, players like Cristiano are afforded a lot more protection and the days of going through an opposing team's best players are, thankfully, long gone. Yet it shows that for all the restraint, the drip-drip of persistent fouling can still have an effect on even the top players."
