An alleged Cristiano Ronaldo rant -- as well as his reported rivalry with Real Madrid teammate Gareth Bale -- has made waves in the Spanish media in the buildup to Sunday's Clasico at the Camp Nou.
Ronaldo's behaviour is under the spotlight after a video was shown on Cuatro and La Sexta that, the programmes suggested, saw the forward react to whistling from the stands by telling the Bernabeu: "Go f--- yourselves."
Marca, AS, Mundo Deportivo and Sport all carried pieces questioning whether Ronaldo had made the remark, with the evidence -- relying on lip-reading -- less than clear-cut.
Meanwhile, Marca journalist Jose Felix Diaz, who is well connected to Madrid president Florentino Perez, has written a revealing piece under the headline "Cristiano Ronaldo always bounces back."
The article begins: "Cristiano Ronaldo has been at his most sour since the start of 2015. After winning his third Ballon d'Or, the Portuguese's performance has gone down, as his irritability on the pitch has grown. His teammates, especially Sergio Ramos, are trying to help Real Madrid's top scorer, but the winning character of the Portuguese makes it difficult, amid his worst start to a year with Los Blancos.
"His gestures, for the moment, are not accepted by some teammates who need him at his best for the visit to the Camp Nou and the remainder of the Champions League."
The piece goes on to mention Ronaldo successfully making his case to be offered a bumper long-term contract, which was eventually signed in September 2013, and might be interpreted as a reminder to the forward that he needs to swiftly rediscover his form.
It concluded: "The team's bad spell has come along with a CR7 who does not feel well either physically or mentally, but at Real Madrid they still trust in the appearance of his best form, which always appears when it seems things are going worst for the Portuguese."
The extent to which his form has dropped is highlighted in AS, which published a piece showing that he had dipped from 1.19 goals per game before Spain's winter break to 0.64 so far in 2015. Another piece of statistical analysis in AS reports that Bale has scored fewer La Liga goals than Ronaldo this term -- 12 compared to the Portuguese's 30 -- but they have been more important as they have given Madrid more points on their own -- six compared to five.
The relationship between Ronaldo and Bale remains under scrutiny after Madrid's 2-0 league victory over Levante at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu at the weekend, when the Wales international scored a brace but was not congratulated by the Portuguese, who appeared to have initially thought he had a claim to both goals.
Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo featured a story detailing the various times when Ronaldo has shown unhappiness at Bale on the pitch, including a well-known photo from January's 3-0 win over Espanyol showing the Portuguese screaming in frustration while Bale lamented his miss in the background.
AS' cover on Tuesday morning, featuring the headline "Bale doing extra work," had Sunday's match-winner looking to build on his return to goal-scoring form after nine games off. The newspaper featured a photo of the Wales international training hard, referencing a story inside that reported he had been staying late through recent weeks to do extra work with assistant coach Paul Clement each day.
Buenos días. Esta es nuestra portada del martes http://t.co/t4WGyTjpsu pic.twitter.com/71nu7bK4SN
- AS (@diarioas) March 17, 2015
The Catalan press remains focused primarily on Wednesday's game at home to Manchester City in the second leg of their Champions League clash, but Mundo Deportivo's front page on Tuesday morning does reference the Primera Division clash, showing Barca talisman Lionel Messi smiling and Ronaldo frowning, in a stock-market themed cover with one "rising" as the other "falls."
Messi sube, Cristiano baja #portada #deportes http://t.co/H6YjKvvO3o pic.twitter.com/YYKmBiRHsm
- Mundo Deportivo (@mundodeportivo) March 17, 2015
Barcelona are currently one point clear of Madrid at the top of La Liga with both teams having played 27 games.