You either die a hero or live long enough see yourself become the villain.

A quote that has permeated popular culture and in some way defined our modern culture as not just blindly celebrating any heroes. Now people look at a hero but also see his shortcomings. And god forbid that he or she falls short of expectations -- the internet has become the modern day lynching ground.

Enter Cristiano Ronaldo.

Just this past Friday he was honored in Madrid for becoming the club's top all-time scorer. Some have even hailed him as the greatest player in the franchise's history.

Yet it was only a few days earlier, prior to his two goals against Malmo that won the game for Madrid, he was being lambasted for a poor start to 2015-16. And on Sunday that conversation started up yet again. Fortunately or unfortunately for Ronaldo, he has a couple of weeks of international break. He can get away from the pressure of Madrid but at the same time he still has the elephant looming over his head.

What is said elephant you ask? Ten goals in nine games on the year but going six of those games without a goose egg. Moreover, he has scored in just one Spanish League tilt, putting in five goals and one assist against Espanyol.

Since joining Madrid, Ronaldo has never had a poorer start to his season.

In his debut season, he hit five goals in the first four Spanish League titles before enduring an eight-game goalless drought in La Liga. However, he did score in two Champions League matches to add to his total. That year was his worst for the team from a goal-scoring perspective and he only managed 26 goals in the league and 33 overall.

A year later he managed six goals in his first seven games, but he scored those across four games; he finished the year with 40 Spanish League goals and 53 across all competitions (or 41 and 54 if you count the goal that has been discounted in some circles).

In 2011-12 he scored seven goals in the first seven, tallying in three games en route to scoring 60 goals in all competitions and 45 in La Liga. In 2012-13 he scored eight goals in the first seven, putting the ball in the net in four of the first seven games. He only had 34 goals in La Liga that year but finished the season with 55 overall. In 2013-14 he started the first seven by scoring six goals across three games. A year ago it was 15 goals in seven games with the goals spread out across the seven matches.

In sum, Ronaldo has never been as inconsistent as he has this year, save for his debut season.

But is that enough to crucify the superstar who has kept the team competitive year-in and year-out?

Let us go back to the 2009-10 season for a bit. While the goal numbers are not excellent by more recent standards, underlying statistics paint a different picture. According to WhoScored in 2009-10 he was arguably more influential offensively than he ever has been at Madrid. He was averaging a career-high 3.1 dribbles per game; he ranked third in the league in that statistic. He was averaging a career-high 2.6 key passes per game; he was also third in the Spanish League in that stat that season. He averaged over 38.6 passes per game in La Liga, also a career high. He averaged a career high of 0.6 crosses per game.

Over the years those statistics, which made Ronaldo a well-rounded offensive player, have steadily declined. As of the recent 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid those statistics are among the lowest they have ever been. It is a small sample size to be sure, but a comparison with last season, shows that regression is rather true. Ronaldo has dribbled an average of 1.4 times per game; a year ago it was at 1.5 times per game. At this point in time he ranks 37th in La Liga in that statistic.

His key passes per game come in at 1.4 per game, a drop from 2.2 a year ago but in line with his 1.6 average in 2013-14. He currently ranks 38th in Spain in that category. His average number of passes per game has dropped to 31.3 per game, the lowest they have ever been.

The only numbers to increase in that time are the goals scored, the assists given (at least last year) and the shots taken on goal.

Last year was the most prolific of Ronaldo's career with 48 goals in La Liga, 61 across all competitions and 22 assists, also a career high. He converted at a rate of 19 percent, the best of his career.

But in 2015-16, Ronaldo is not even doing what he is supposed to do -- score goals. Sure 10 goals in nine games across all competitions is still "elite" from a superficial standpoint.

But when you remember that those goals have come across three games and only one of seven La Liga matches, there has to be cause for concern.

And there is. Ronaldo has never been as wasteful as he has been this season.

His 7.9 shots per game is a career-high for the superstar. He had 14 shots on goal against Malaga a few weeks ago and only two were on target. None went into the net. On Sunday at the Calderon he had a poor performance in which he fired six shots and only had one on target. His conversion rate this season from shots to goals is a woeful nine percent, well below his career average of 14 percent. 

One might imagine that Ronaldo will regress back closer to the mean, but his erratic form in front of goal of late is a huge cause for concern. He still makes great runs that open up space for his teammates, but soon enough, other teams will decide that he is simply not worth the trouble and cut down Karim Benzema's supply path. And why would they when Ronaldo is missing 90 percent of the shots he takes and barely getting any attempts on target; he is actually only getting 41.8 percent of the shots he takes on target and of those he is scoring on 21 percent.

It might be age. It might be the new system. It might be mental. Whatever it is, Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez needs to find an answer because the critics are right -- in recent years, when Ronaldo is not scoring, he is doing little else. 

And right now he is not scoring. At least not with the consistency expected of him. He is certainly getting the chances, but he is either not making a wise decision with his passing or taking selfish shots and losing the ball in painful manners.

If he can't adapt his game, then it might be time to come up with a new plan. Ronaldo, for all he has done for this club, is not cutting it in current form. He is in fact slowly but surely becoming the villain.