Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has urged the club’s supporters to stop abusing coach Jose Mourinho during home games. "I have to ask that they stop this now," Ronaldo told reporters on Thursday. "The boss is going to stay, we still have a lot we can win this year. He is in charge and he takes the decisions, the fans and the players should help him.”

He added: "People have shown they are unhappy but that's enough now. They have to get behind the boss and the team. It affects the players out on the field. If we win the Cup and the Champions League it will have been a good year."

Despite being linked with a move away from Madrid in the summer, Ronaldo, who has scored five goals in his last three games for Real, including a hat trick against Celta Vigo during a 4-0 Copa del Rey victory on Wednesday, is on good terms with Los Blancos’ notoriously fickle supporters.

Mourinho, however, most certainly is not. A survey published by La Marca on Wednesday revealed that nearly two-thirds of the club’s members believe he has negatively impacted the club’s image with his confrontational coaching style. A little more than half, 54.4 percent, back the Portuguese to keep his job at the end of the season.