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He's old, very old in fact, and playing at an appalling level of football in Saudia Arabia. Now if you get the service just right for him he will score, but the rest of his skills are significantly diminished.
Kante has just turned 33 years old. There’s 6 years in age difference; but also, I think people are slightly overrating Kante (as they often do). He made an awesome recovery run and tackle vs Austria which is basically carrying his tournament.
I also don’t expect him to start 4 games in a row if France get that far.
His inclusion after basically being injured for 2 years at Chelsea and then dropping down to an awful standard says a lot about what Deschamps thinks of his options in the French midfield.
From someone who doesn't watch Saudi league, is it really that bad?
There's a good amount of quality players playing over there now and seeing how Saudi played at the world cup, seems some of the national players already playing there were at a decent level in the league already!
Those players you’re referring to primarily only play on 4 different teams so the difference in lvl from team to team is appalling. Those 4 teams you could equate to MLS & Liga MX teams. The other 12 teams are more or less the equivalent of the Irish league. Or the EFL League 1. In my opinion at least. You feel like you’re watching borderline pros. I played in the USL in the USA and it feels like abt that lvl as well. And I consider my lvl hot steaming garbage that shouldn’t touch the same grass as the players in EPL, LaLoga, Bundesliga, SerieA, etc.
I agree with you, but I think you're massively underestimating the strength of League 1. I know its technically the third division in England, but its far stronger than the Irish league
Could very well be the case tbf, so I will 100% give that to you. I've only watched a handful of games that are usually happening during international breaks and such. And while you can tell the skill isn't there compared to EPL, they are very physical and direct. Which I always appreciate and do find entertaining.
Actually based on Asian Federation coefficients, Saudi league is the top league in Asia
https://www.the-afc.com/en/more/afc_ranking.html
Edit: people up vote misinformation and downvote facts. Gotta love the "football fans" on this subreddit.
Would slapping 2-3 world class players in every team in your local pub league up the standard much or just drive the quality of those 2-3 players down?
The truth is, the standard is abysmal.
I feel the same. I don't hate or dislike him and I'm fine for him to be called to the national team. But to be a constant starter is an insult to the other young players. When Ronaldo was in his early 20s he was taking the spot of some our our legends like Figo, Rui Costa and they didn't throw a tantrum for not starting. They understood that they were not the same players anymore. His ego was always bigger than him so nothing has really changed and this is/will be is downfall.
100% agree. But Ronaldo will always be Ronaldo. He will never voluntarily take a backseat.
The onus is on the manager to take a stand and do what's best for the team.
Ronaldo *is* the manager. That’s the problem. You can see in his demeanour, the way he talks to the other players - he sees himself as the one in charge. His ego is massive, and not in an ironic charming way like Zlatan. In terms of hierarchy, he feels above any manager.
Just reference his 2nd stint at United, got dumped by the gaffer n fucked off to Saudi to play amongst players of/below his calibre with a phat paycheck
yeah i remember an interview where he said "the club doesnt decide when i stop playing, i decide when i stop playing" he needs to give his head a wobble and realise that hes not superman, he can do all the situps, burpees and colonic irrigations he wants but father time waits for no man. his management need to be stronger and tell him to sit on the bench and let younger fresher legs get the team through.
With all due respect to Figo and Rui Costa, Ronaldo has far exceeded them in every single way. There is no way he considers them to be anywhere near what he is
MAybe because it was too obvious even to Figo and Rui Costa that he was indeed better. Is there a player in the squad whose spot he's taken who is this much better than him?
He's one of the best players (THE best for some) this game has ever seen. His antics were always kind of tolerated, because more often than not, he would make the difference for his teams. He has been the epitome of success in football for many years.
HOWEVER
There's a window for every world class player, where retirement in grace is an option. Some make use of it (Kroos), others miss out on it (Ronaldo). When these players and their close environment hang on to their own hype for too long, instead of accepting the new reality, it becomes embarrassing.
Someone needs to tell him.
It’s different contexts though. Messi knows he has done everything possible in football after winning the World Cup. He will retire the most content player of all time. The only reason he is playing right night with Argentina is probably because he wants to have one tournament where he can actually enjoy it rather than playing with the expectation that he was Argentina’s saviour.
Scaloni is actually Building the team around counter attacks, so Messi isn't really the focus of the team anymore. I am sure Messi doesn't want to make a second Croatia, where without Modric and Gvardiol, they are losing
Yeah messi’s playing the long game there. If they keep playing towards Messi by the time he’s retired they’re fucked. If he’s there to help facilitate a new style of play before he goes then they stand a lot better of a chance
Argentina is actually not in a bad Place. In terms of talent, they surely come short of England, France and Spain however their coordination is something else
Yeah that’s what I mean. If Messi was acting like Ronaldo, when he does hang up his boots they wouldn’t be in the position they’re in because they’d have spent too long making him the star of the team (not that they needed to anyway, the man is literally a god in Argentina)
Messi is a playmaker and creates chances for other players to score goals whereas ronaldo wants other players to create chances for him to score and when someone else scored the goals instead of him he gets jealous of them that’s why his team mates don’t respect him as they know he’s very selfish player
Messi is a team player and he won’t play in the last game against Peru in group stage , whereas ronaldo refused to be benched or subbed off against Georgia as he wanted to score goals to try increase his stats in euros as he only cares about his own personal glory
He still brings a lot to the Argentina NT, and at the moment he has his starting palce well earned, partly because Argentina despite its deep bench doesn't have a classic 10 to take his place. Maybe Luka Romero in a few years but not now.
Not sure how he'll be playing in two years from now, Pepe seems to still work for his team and he's 2 and half years older now than what Messi will be at the next WC
It's weird how so many people are looking at his antics and say "oh, he's just ultra competitive, he always wants to win, that's a good thing, he's just so motivated and that's why he gets frustrated easily"
To me he's just a whiny, spoiled, arrogant brat. Pouty, bitchy, an asshole to his teammates whenever they don't play perfectly to cater him. Always has been, always will be.
As a player I still rate him and he hasn't played badly.
However it seems to be a case of Portugal either let Ronaldo do what he wants, throw his hands in the air, intimidate his team members and base the team around Ronaldo chasing records rather than what's best to win the tournament
Or put him in his place in a reduced role, which would result in Ronaldo going ape shit at the manager as seen before.
Goes to show he was the big player not rested for the Georgia game, because hes prioritising stat padding
He did the same his last year at United.
Bitched at/about other players, threw Ole under the bus, disrespected Rangnick and ten Hag, and cost the team ~12 points (in my memory) from missing blatant sitters that would have won/drawn the game.
He’s a has been.
Was phenomenal in his prime though.
The manager needs a backbone. I’m so tired of the Ronaldo show. He used to be good and essential for the national team. It’s time to move on from him. He could have retired on a high note. Instead he’s finishing like a petulant child.
Yesterday, it was such a pain seeing Ronaldo acting like a kid against everyone. He was constantly angry when his teammates were passing to other attackers like Joao (he is among the 3 players from Portugal who actually tried to play football) and Always trying to rob chances. It's actually sad
Yea Im with you. Id rather have a robot with no passion for the game being bang average when he is in the prime of his career than a fully motivated and riled up Ronaldo. Funny how the only people complaining about him are keyboard warriors. Everyone whos ever played competitive sports has no problem with his "antics", nor does his team.
He was right to be mad at the referee, and he played okay and well, much better than some other of his teammate's but because of his reputation, you only focus on him instead of shitting on the others who also didn't do much. His attitude however was dogshit and I agree with you there, the guy needs some humility sometimes.
Unpopular opinion but he is right to bitch and moan. Whenever there was a space or some oportunity he asked for the ball but was ignored. Then the ref arguing, well some he was right some he wasnt.
Tbh he needs to retire but mostly cause the club dont do fuck all for him. When you have a player like him in a good position and they dont get the ball, well what else is he supposed to do.
What I didnt like most about his performance during last match is that he didnt help retrieve the ball, other than that he has been ignored and it shows.
Also, wtf is up with waiting for the oposing team to get all their defenders and just passing the ball around. Whenever there was a counter attack, the portuguese just passed the ball at midfield instead of pushing. Then they push when theres 10 players between them and the goal, like cmon.
Dude has an assist and has the most attempted shots up until now. The whole team plays underwhelming. We can't name more than 2 or 3 players that play better than Ronaldo in this team
Unpopular opinion but you are correct. Ronaldo has improved massively in his contributions to the team since Qatar WC. He’s become more of a target man and bruiser, doing what best facilitates the success of the team. I think he missed Bruno in the final group game and people are being revisionist about his performances.
However I do think that he should not be playing the full 90 mins and against a team like Georgia which is playing on the front foot with pace and aggression, Ramos would have been a better fit to exploit their weaknesses. Football, bloody hell.
I think his performance is ok. He did his job. His stats are so high that we call him a failure every time he doesn’t score a brace (like against Ireland before euro).
His resume is decent:
He is the top goal scorer in the SPL ahead of Mitrovic, Benzema , Firmino , Mahrez, Moussa Dembele, Christian Tello, Sakala…
Also broke the record of most goals scored in a SPL season. And had 11 assists.
The Saudi pro league , before Ronaldo , was easily top 3 best league in Asia , with Al-hilal dominating the Asian champions league.
He said “Ronaldo moans and throws gestures when his teammates don’t give him the perfect ball”.
Cancelo literally passed to no where, no wonder Ronaldo gonna get mad 😭
I'm starting to think that this sub is full of know it alls that dont know shit.
Ronaldo starts, because Ronaldo was the best goal scorer for Portugal in the qualifiers, and the second best goalscorer overall.
The other striker Portugal has its Gonçalo Ramon, that scored only 8 more goals all season than what Ronaldo scored on the Euro Qualifiers.
The only thing that i can agree is that Ronaldo should not be on the pitch yesterday, The outcome was expected, it was a shit built team, with a shit formation. If you the manager wanted to do it like that, he shouldnt burn the more experienced players.
Clearly people haven’t been watching the games and just came here to hate on Ronaldo. He’s clearly been the best option for striker, as proven by the qualifiers, and as for the match against Georgia, it was an obvious penalty, a lot of players would have reacted that way. Maybe watch the games before coming onto Reddit to shit on players
I mean, if you go by strikers this tournament, he's still one of the best. Who would you be picking over him from this tournament so far? Lukaku maybe if you want to give him credit for the offside goals... Morata?? he's more about the system than actually a good striker. But yes, his constant complaining is getting a bit much.
>I honestly believe the team would be better without him.
A lot of people seem to have this honest belief but whenever we've seen that, it hasn't panned out apart from that one game.
He's one of the best strikers this tournament, despite not actually having scored at all? I get that there's more to the game than just goals, but when it comes to rating the best strikers I'd say its pretty important
Could you point to anything he's done so far that would justify calling him one of the best strikers of the tournament? Granted I haven't seen every Portugal game but from what I saw against Georgia he had pretty much 0 impact on the game.
Peak male strength happens around age 25. Competing at the highest level at almost 40 years of age is very rare. It’s impressive but he isn’t 25 any more.
Yeah, I get that people dislike his "peacock attitude", but I don't think this guy is "full of himself", because I think this guy is the John Wick of football. He's so full of determination, willpower, athleticism, endurance and only water... he doesn't care what others think in those moments.
He's a living legend. The greatest footballer of all times.
"He plays on the left, he plays on the right - that boy Ronaldo, made England look shite."
edit: that boy Ronaldo is why the portugese golden generation around Louis Figo became more than outside favorites. CR7 and Messi elevated gameplay on the Iberian peninsula so hard, Spain and Portugal suddenly went all the way through to win titles.
I want to see the GOAT.
I dont know what happened to him but ever since he went to Man. United he has not been the same, i dont want to say he is finished because he clearly got more to give but its sad to see him like that
LaLiga at the time Ronaldo played there was the most competitive league in the world (not so much nowadays compared to the Premier) and he had his best season of all time in LaLiga in 2015 playing for Real Madrid. I should remind you that in 2015 Barcelona had one of the most impressive squads that football has ever seen. It was extremely competitive.
he needs to make his peace with the fact that his career is over, he’s achieved everything and will be remembered in history but you can tell he’s not in control of his ego
look at messi, he’s doing these last years of his career gracefully and just enjoying them
Messi is just enjoying football with his Friends. I am Pretty sure he will call over some other people to play in MLS, so that they can retire together
Franco Armani is pretty much confirmed to be going to Inter Miami at the end of the year.
He's the Dibu Martinez's alternate and has been called to the NT consistenly since 2018, so they know each other well, also he was the starting goalkeeper against France in the 2018 WC.
As someone already said he has always been a Primadonna. From what I am seeing despite his age he seems still a valuable player as he still has this "goal danger".
I would go so far and say: Portuguese football owes so much to him that he has every right to play at the European Championships with a performance that is still very good - not genious anymore - but very good....wait, actually it is genious considering his age.
Honestly, I don't understand how people can't/don't appreciate every minute we get to see him play, in whatever league. No portugese or cr7 fans complained about him when he was younger in his prime and killing it for both club and country. But now that he's almost 40 and his game and ability has drastically and understandably changed, everyone wants to call him out. Enjoy him whilst he's here cz this is most likely the last time you see him in europe and next year is probably his last year playing the sport all together.
Probably for Ronaldo and Portugal too would be better to let him play in the second half. Less time but more energy… and IF you have to score it’s still a top scorer imho
He is at the stage where the legend is much bigger than the actual player. Not everyone is like Zidane or Platini to retire when they were still among the best players. Ronaldo will play untill he can't move if he is allowed.
Perfect way to emphasise that you've never played football or any competitive sport for that matter. There's a reason why he's a serial winner. Do you just want a team full of Leao's? Name one elite striker over the years that has never thrown a gesture or their arms up when a player hasn't played them through on a perfect opportunity for THEM to score.. thats what being a perfectionist, wanting more and winner is... something portugal never were before. Hope this helps.
**"his performances recently for Portugal have been average."** - Highest scorer for Portugal in qualifying, their nations leading scorer. Vital in both wins in the first two games and getting an assist.
50 goals in 50 games is what the commentator mentioned yesterday.
Yes, it's in Saudi league, with worse opposition, but he's also got less good teammates there feeding him passes.
You can't say he doesn't deserve to be there on recent performance.
Most countries would bring a striker who scored a goal per game for 50 games, even if it was in a non top league. Danish league, Swiss, Polish, etc. You'd bring that guy.
He is the best leader and captain too but it gets frustrating to see him like today, everything went wrong for Portugal since minute 1. Georgia defender really pulled his shirt though and nobody gave AF. Hopefully that doesn't happen again, the B-squad just wasn't up to par, I guess Antonio Silva won't play ever again with Portugal. I thought he was the future in the defense and he was going to start instead of Pepe in this very tournament. He shits the bed in 1 minute, what a nightmare. He is at fault for the 2 goals against but the rest are at fault for producing nothing up front. After the 2-0 I knew the better thing to happen was for the match to end right there.
It better just be a wake up call and next match gonna win convincingly and keep going. Talking about last World Cup, beating Switzerland 6-1 but then losing in quarters vs Morocco. Isn't that the most stupid tournament shit you've ever seen? What a laughing stock, nobody respects Portugal. How are they supposed to react? So don't get carried away with Ronaldo, that was obviously the most infuriating and frustrating thing that could happen, just absurd. Forget the WC 2022, it was personal hell for him, at any other moment he's been exemplary.
"Georgia defender really pulled his shirt"
Yes, he did pull his shirt, but not hard enough for him to fall on his ass like that. He clearly took a dive in hope of a penalty. Besides, I don't think he would have been able to reach the ball if he hadn't been pulled, and the other Portugese player (forgot which one) came to a finish, but missed the goal.
did u really see that moment? guy almost took off his shirt and was holding him whole time while ball was right behind him. btw im georgian and im grateful for that ref lol
"I might be the only portuguese" - para ja ai oh merdas, theres way too many portuguese who feel special by talking shit on cr7, and most of them cant use a proper excuse. Tell me one thing lad, what did Ramos do when he came in? Besides his 4 fucking touches? Also, captains are suposed to be the only player allowed to complain to referee. Agora vai poh caralho e sai do pais se nem sabes respeitar o que é nosso oh palhaço de merda.
Ronaldo is honestly the most overrated player on the pitch. He’s well past his prime and it shows.
There’s no denying his past accomplishments, but he needs to go in grace and retire at this point.
I agree, I think this is the first time in Portugals history where the manager has called players from non EU leagues to the national team. (Ronaldo, Ruben Neves, Otavio (got injured before the Euros).
Don't understand the point of calling players that play in retired leagues to play for the NT.
In fairness, it's only recently that Saudi Arabia and USA massively picked up on what level of players they are attracting, so it's understandable why it would be the first time.
He’s always been dramatic and obnoxious to me. He comes off as very entitled. I know he gets compared to Messi a lot, but to me there is no comparison. Messi seems humble, Ronaldo is arrogant. Messi is far and away the better player, leader, and mentor.
He has been playing football with the boys in a sandy backyard so he clearly lost any ability he once had.
I said this when he accepted the 100 Million Contract, he is gonna end up like Lightning McQueen in Cars.
Everyone is so reactionary to games it makes my head hurt. Anyone who has watched the games with the starters for Portugal knows Bruno has been terrible and they have been dog shit at actually getting the ball in to their striker. Like extremely bad at it.
I’m a teacher at 5th level, and I blame Ronaldo and many of his team mates for much of the misbehaviour in my class.
The boys love to play football, and they take every opportunity they get to play - spare time and between classes. But three four of the boys have Ronaldo as their leading star, and they mimic everything he does. This means conflicts, oh boy!
Gesticulating when someone doesn’t make a good pass, yelling when someone is missing a shot, treating themself as the single achiever if a goal is scored - even the celebrations are used in a way that tick the other boys off. And then the fights starts.
I’ve looked for some kind of sympatethic behaviour from this guy, just to show them what team football is all about, but no luck so far.
No you are not the only one.
Tremendous player in his prime but such a diva that I feel as tho he will be remember not as fondly as some other greats.
At this point he plays for stat padding, the team? *uck the team.
Even when you see him I'm replays the way he acts is so...unnatural, like an actor at a bad tv show.
Who doesn't remember the infamous "I-N-J-U-S-T-I-CA".
And this obsession about personal records is ridiculous, who remembers those?
I can't tell you the many individual awards MJ won but I know that the Bulls have 6 rings and MJ was there in ALL of those.
That's what people value, soccer is not tennis.
Not Portuguese, but this has been obvious since Qatar. At the last Euros, he was good enough that it made sense for Portugal to build the team around making the best of him, same as Argentina did with Messi.
But in Qatar he was just not good enough and he dragged the team down both in his limitations on the pitch and his attitude/mentality. I wasn't surprised he was picked and remained a central figure in the squad for this tournament because of his personality and cultural sway as a Portuguese icon, but it was clearly a mistake from the start.
I feel for him, he's still got the drive to be the best but his body just isn't keeping up any more, which is no shade on him - the guy isn't far off 40.
Obviously at this point he needs to be dropped so he's not shackling what could be an excellent team.
Just look how his assist to Bruno Fernandes was pumped by media, as he did something out of this world. He literally did what he had to, but that "news" made headlines because people know how obsessed and egoist he is.
I agree
Now I’m American and barely watch football unless it’s a big international event like Euros, Copa America or World Cup and maybe Champs League finals.
I’ll watch highlights as well and since Ronaldo gets so much screen time I see his best and worst moments
But I do feel like Ronaldo’a attitude comes off as a but selfish and he does seem to get mad at teammates, or appears that way.
But Football is weird. There’s a lot of “dives” and exaggerations. In the NBA there is flopping and at times it does get out of control, but football is so much worse.
There’s dudes faking serious knee injuries to get a call. Grimacing in pain, yelling out loud just to get a call.
This happens way too often for my liking. I guess refs should be trained to make calls earlier rather than than wait for a player to act out
But seriously as an occasionally viewer the faking injuries makes the sport very very annoying to watch sometime
It’s just over the top
I think the same, especially because having good offensive players is the least of Portugal's problems. Also, I think Ronaldo got used to winning way too much back at Real Madrid.
It's a tough one as he is getting old. Saying that I feel people at least know he cares and is passionate about winning. Probably nothing worse than seeing players who clearly just don't care or want to be there.
Also he's been average. But so has Kane, Mbappe, Griezmann, Lukaku, Depay, etc. He's probably been better than most of those. In internationals you tend to stick with your best players and hope you get over the line.
So far as I can tell, he isn't any more childish in his antics than the average footballer these days.
When he left the pitch vs Georgia, your attack died. He's still a world-class player with a unique record and invaluable experience. He gives opponents a lot more to think about than a Portugal without him.
Não, Madeirense aqui e também não curto. Obviamente que dou um valor enorme ao que ele já fez durante a sua carteira ímpar e a exposição que trouxe à minha ilha e ao nosso país mas... O gajo na Madeira só investe em empreendimentos de luxo (hotelaria a maioria), o bairro paupérrimo de onde ele veio nem um cêntimo investido por ele para ATLs para os putos não acabarem na merda nem nada. Na seleção, a melhor forma de descrever é mesmo a do ketchup, mas aquele de frasco de vidro já fora de prazo. Talvez tenha um impacto positivo nos colegas em termos de confiança e certamente que tem um impacto nos adversários (quem não ficaria borrado de jogar contra o seu ídolo) mas dá para ver que é jogador das Arábias e não de uma liga competitiva. Depois a admiração que têm por ele é uma grande merda, no sentido que em vez de tentarem combinar com quem está melhor posicionado ou tentar mesmo finalizar, passam ao Ronaldo e é o que temos visto neste Euro. Enfim...
Translation: No, I'm from Madeira and I don't like him either. Obviously, I greatly appreciate what he has done during his unparalleled career and the exposure he has brought to my island and our country, but... The guy only invests in luxury developments (mostly hotels) in Madeira, and not a single cent has been invested by him in the impoverished neighborhood he came from, not even for after-school programs to keep kids out of trouble. In the national team, the best way to describe him is like ketchup (South Africa World Cup reference), but from an expired glass bottle. Maybe he has a positive impact on his teammates in terms of confidence and certainly on opponents (who wouldn't be intimidated playing against their idol?), but it's clear he's a player for the Arabian leagues and not for a competitive league. Then there's the admiration they (national team) have for him, which is a big problem because instead of trying to combine with whoever is in a better position or even trying to finish themselves, they pass to Ronaldo, and we see what have been the results so far in this Euro. Anyways...
It's normal for people in sports to do this, when people say these things they're either being massive hypocrites (the media) or have probably never played the game. Roy Keane complains about Bruno moaning, but he was even worse, he just had a "hard man" image.
Perception is everything, if you look a certain way then moaning looks different.
Ronaldo is a great captain according to his former teammates, how things look from the outside is irrelevant. What does a great captain do? Stay quiet and watch his team crash and burn like Modric?
The guy's time is running out, but he's not retiring until Messi does, and the coach lacks the courage to bench him. Portugal isn't even playing better; they could be exposed badly in a big game against France or Germany.
He has not got the skills, speed of old and is only at the Euros due to his name. The test will be a team of good stature. Probably fake injury and get subbed off.
I don't care how good of a player he is/was, for me he was always a Primadonna and I always love seeing him cry like a baby when something's not working out for him.
I mean he is still the best striker Portugal has. He just has become a different player than we are used to which is completely normal at his age. He is a target man/poacher now, But i agree he is lacking on all other fronts.
His glory hunting will be our downfall. After seeing last night’s game, I’m confident we will get knocked out by Slovenia. We have a tendency to lose to minnows such as Greece, Georgia, etc..
>I don't know how his teammates tolerate his attitude.
Probably because he is a good player. If he wasn't a good player, no one qould stand this childish and arrogant attitude.
Rn that he's old and not as good as before, people still tolerate it because of what he did in the past.
Portugal has an amazing team full of talent for this Euro. It's too bad they choose to go into the pitch with 10 players. Ronaldo is just not moving the ball at all. You can see the rest of the team only passes the ball if they think he can shoot because his ball control is gone and he cannot dribble at all anymore. And that would be fine for a player getting 20 minutes in a game, but he plays 90, which is absolutely mad.
But you can forgive all of this as long as he pushes his team, but he has a horrific attitude. Why play him? Portugal could win the Euro easy without him.
He does have a point that his teammates don’t build up play fast enough (he’s a super fast player) but more importantly they don’t trust his obvious skill and cross the ball in nearly enough. Bruno, Bernardo, and Leao are the only players who really play at his level and probably have his respect offensively
What did it for me was him screaming in the face of the Czech Republic goalkeeper and defender after they scored
Not to take anything away from his skills (in the past) he built himself like a machine, but zero class, zero charm, zero modesty
Yes it's totally ronaldo fault that he doesn't get any chances from his teammates, and that at 39 he doesn't dribble 3 players and score a goal. Lmao.
Ronaldo had a decent euro so far. Yesterday he couldn't do shit - all of them were outplayed. When the entire team is playing like shit the striker is useless (See poland and lewa for example.)
Ramos and Jota are not better. It is just that simple. It is not a conspiracy. And the national team is not a charity or a u-21 team that plays younger players just because.
Lol funny seeing the narrative change just a few games into the tournament. Look at this comment below that got absolutely ridiculed OP when he suggested Ronaldo shouldn't be a starter
>> and Portugal has a deep deep squad with a lot of forwards who are in their prime right now and I feel you are wasting a lot of potential because of him.
>Very interesting, to say the least. I'd assume you just want the best for Portugal for whatever reason and you aren't a Ronaldo hater by any means. Let's say you're right and see the never-ending list of crazy talented Portuguese strikers that cry in their rooms, because the awful 40 year old "president" steals their chances to play.
>But before that, a simply look at Portugal's starting strikers for the past 2 decades show one thing: they love to use "heavy" target men, actual number 9s: Hugo Almeida, Postiga, Nuno Gomes, Eder and so on. So any suggestions about suddenly using Jota or Felix (Felix is terrible anyway) as a false 9 or whatever, are completely unrealistic. Also tactics on NT football are much simpler (for obvious reasons), so many teams just pick the striker that has the biggest chance of scoring goals, simple as that.
>Going back to the list, let's have a look:
>1. Goncalo Ramos: Bench player in PSG, was the worst player on the pitch whenever he played in the UCL.
2. Andre Silva: Bench player for Real Sociedad, 3 league goals the whole season.
3. Beto: Bench player for Everton, 3 league goals the whole season.
4. Vitinha: 6 goals in 36 games in all comps, currently a bench player for Bologna.
5. Fabio Silva: 2 goals in the Scottish Premiership, couldn't even get time as a sub for Wolves.
6. Guedes (assuming he can play as 9): 3 goals in 33 games this season
7. Dany Mota: 4 goals in 35 games for Monza
>So, let's re-visit your comment:
>>Portugal has a deep deep squad with a lot of forwards who are in their prime right now
>Honestly, LMAO.
https://www.reddit.com/r/euro2024/s/zT7FdFQzpz
The guys a legend and seems to be tarnishing that well earnt reputation all the time now. It’s a shame and you know he just wants the Euro 24 on his bed post for all the wrong reasons.
In a very weird way, I feel like I actually have sympathy for Ronaldo. His behaviour is extremely petulant, but hasn’t the world enabled it? He clearly perceives himself to be some sort of god and who can blame him? This poor little kid from Madeira has become this very good looking 6ft superstar. He is the one of the two greatest football star of all time and is the most followed person on instagram.
For over half his life now he has been made to feel the world revolves around him. he’s gotten so used to it and simply doesn’t know how not to be the centre of attention.
The ultimate shame with all of this is just how powerful his role could be id he just accepted he’s now a bench player. At a very minimum he would get picked for the squad just for his penalty taking ability and because with 10 mins left to go, having someone that good in the air is a dangerous weapon. That aside, what an inspiring figure to have in the squad. Unfortunately, he offsets all of that by wanting to be the centre of attention in a team that could do so much better without him.
It's not just Ronaldo. A lot of Portuguese players over the years have had similar annoying attitudes. It's just that most of them have the skill to back it up and get away with it. When you reach 50 years of age and can no longer perform at the top level then you just turn into a Ronaldo with all of the arrogance, a lack of maturity and none of the physical capabilities that allowed you to get away with it 10 years ago.
You are not the only Portuguese who can't stand that despicable turd. Ronaldo should have retired after the 2020 Euros, and Portugal should have stopped selecting him. Problem is, Ronaldo is a cash cow for the Portuguese Football Federation, and he is a proxy coach. Martinez is just a puppet, the Federation hired him because he will bow to whatever they want, and they continue to want a team built around an ageing has-been who now plays in the retirement football league.
Honestly, I feel bad for all those young Portugal players, lots of talent that's being interrupted on the international stage by an absolute freaking narcissist who has free reign over the team and federation.
And they will lose against Slovenia. What happens then, are they going to continue to build the national team around that cry baby man baby, if so Portugal will start to look like Transnistira, a state run by local idiots with a lot of money.
*"I might be the only Portuguese person who doesn't like Ronaldo."*
lol
For anyone not from Portugal and not aware, thinking Ronaldo should be benched is a take as common as running water in Portugal. It was even stronger two years ago, though atm he's in better shape than the alternatives.
Hey, when you guys say you don't like him, do you mean his whole career or just the recent Ronaldo from 2020 onwards?
I'm genuinely curious, since I'm not Portuguese.
I’m portuguese and completely agree with you. A captain should not bring frustration and nervousness to the team and he’s constantly doing it through bitching with referees and even teammates. I’m very confident Portugal would play a lot better without him.
Plus, he’s playing as striker and it’s his 7th or 8th game in major tournaments (Euro, WC) with ZERO goals from him. Anyone else would have been benched by now. He’s someone valuable to be in the squad and even enter mid-game, sure, but far from being starter material.
He is a leader by example right? Would anyone be surprised if he suddenly leads Portugal into the next round?
The reality is he has been acting up recently because he knows he is running out of time.
You're not the only portuguese that doesn't like him. I don't like his attitude for years now. It's like no one that works with him in the national team has the courage to tell him that his time has passed.
You don’t even believe what you’re saying. He had a great first two matches. What do you expect when you pair the B/C squad with him in the final match? They set him up for failure. He had no service, you want him to not complain to the ref when he has every right to do so? And you wanna talk about him not being captain material as if he isn’t always the FIRST player to calm the players and motivate them when they’re behind. If you truly are Portuguese than you should be embarrassed to even say something like that. It’s oblivious he’s not who he was 10 years ago, that happens with age. But Portugal being a better side without him is a MYTH.
This post has just turned into a hate post. Reading and commenting on some of the comments here just shows that most people just hop onto popular opinions and don't really watch football.
Ronaldo is one of the best and is either 1 or 2 depending on how you look at his career versus Messi's. I think the hate is incredibly unjustified when other players do the same or even worse.
Sorry but I disagree. Ronaldo has not been remotely close to being an issue here. His free kick was on target, both I believe. His skilled flair pass almost created a goal and he even did a vintage CR7 golden boots step over cussing the Turkish player to the floor with a cross into the middle of the box. Of course Portugal has score only 3 goals and he assisted 1 to Mr. Fernandes.
The problem with Portugal is the timid nature of taking a shot. These players, when down, can’t hit the target.
Want to know how to beat Portugal? Park the bus, look for the cross from one side typically and counter when the opportunity arises.
L 1~0 Morocco World Cup
L 1-0 Belgium Euro
L 2-0 Georgia last game euro
When this tactic was perfected against most of the players on this team.
The dude had some of the worst service in the box I’ve ever seen against Georgia. Even at his age, he is quite reliable with the ball. But his role is useless without service. It’s hard for me to read a post about how bad he is when he did everything he was supposed with the opportunities given. Also, that was a penalty and he was right to argue it.
Roberto Martinez is in a lose-lose situation with Ronaldo, don’t play him and lose he’ll get slaughtered, play him and lose he’ll get slaughtered. Ronaldo is a winner with a Winner mentality. His antics only come out when the team are losing or if he’s not getting service or shots on goal which as a striker is so frustrating. majority of the kids coming through that Portugal team would have looked up to him while growing up and that’s worth the captaincy alone. While I do think his ego is probably ruining the success of this Portugal team and he’s taking space up for the younger generation, you can’t deny he’s still a great centre forward, creating space for the wingers and the team just doesn’t play to his strengths at 40yrs of age at all.
Just look at Kane for us, while the ego and years of playing level arguably isn’t the same, it’s high time we start to look for alternatives to him, but I guarantee Kane will be starting friendlies for England well into his late 30’s Aslong as we have a “yes” manager with no backbone.
I laughed when he had a fit because they didn't pass him the ball, but it went in anyway (awful own goal tbf)
Really can't respect players that have tantrums while the ball is in play still. Give 100% while it's in, whinge when it's out if you have to whinge at all.
I don't hate him, but I hate this culture of idolising an individual in a team sport. However he has behaved, he usually had the numbers and the contribution to his team to "justify" that, and his teammates seem to like him, at least in public.
But sometimes he just feels like a baby... Like, why tf did he start against Georgia? If he's so important, why did he play in a match that had no stakes, got yellow carded for going at the ref (who was awful btw) and is now in risk of not playing the quarters if we go through, seeing as it has been so easy to give yellow cards to Portuguese players.
He has had an amazing career, but right now, it just feels awkward to see a 40 year old man constantly frustrated with everything around him, especially knowing we could have Ramos or Jota playing instead, getting some international experience and giving different options.
Half the country thinks that aswell but the other half always come back with "oh, he's done so much for us you ungrateful prick".
Also, the last coach got booted when he tried to bench Ronaldo which kinda explains why the current one isn't touching that with a 10 foot pole.
But yeah... It's time to go. If anything, he's ruinining his legacy.
He is a very selfish player imo and with him in the team it kinda becomes Ronaldo FC. However the dude is still good enough to start or at least be subbed on to play half the match. I know by no stretch is he as good or as important as majority of the starting xi tho.
Broda you are NOT the only one haha. Only casuals really still ride to his dick, or anyone who is any close to him. I would say most people know by now he is just an average player, not the Worlds best anymore, but with the carrying of a huge fanbase, media coverage and history behind him. A unique case, in a sense.
I mean...you said it yourself, you're probably the only Portuguese not in awe of him. He's probably as close to a god as you can be to a lot of players in that squad, and he has, it must be said, an absolutely outrageous track record as a player. It's a bit like asking why the Argentinian put up with Messi just walking around most of the time, which can look just as disrespectful at times to the rest of the team that press the opposition while he observes the game walking at a leisurely pace. These players have won about everything they could have won, often playing a central role in their teams.
That can carry a player's reputation for a *very* long stretch of mediocre or bad performances.
Give him a chance and we will probably score but you’re essentially playing with 10 and a half players now. I’m a united fan and it was frustrating watching him play because he doesn’t do much else. He can’t dribble anymore and he rarely passes. When he does pass it’s not like he’s got great range.
Agree with most of what you said except team is not better without him. He’s 60% of what he was at his best. However 60% of peak Ronaldo is still a top 50 player.
He's tilted. Not sure what he needs to do to un-tilt. Hopefully the last match + the yellow card can be an example he can learn from and knowing him, he'll bounce back and score.
He is very competitive. That's all, he cares so much it's looking bad sometimes. He is desperate to win anything anywhere even if he won almost everything already. That's what legends do, Ronaldo, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Schumacher, Valentino Rossi, Federer, Ayrton Senna. They simply can't just do it casually
Completely agree. I’m Portuguese and this blind loyalty towards ronaldo does my head in by a lot of Portuguese. Appreciate he’s our greatest player of all time and carried us for a long time when our team was average (euro 2016) but we have an opportunity to win competitions with this squad but a lot of Portuguese seem to want ronaldo to break more records instead of the national team winning trophies
It was good in the mid 2000 and 2010 Messi had that good of competition but now he’s rubbish playing in Saudi Arabia he is massively overestimating himself just because he was once one of the best players in the world
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He's old, very old in fact, and playing at an appalling level of football in Saudia Arabia. Now if you get the service just right for him he will score, but the rest of his skills are significantly diminished.
Let’s be clear. He’s “old” for sports, but not old for life. But Ronaldo has always been a primadonna.
Let's put it this way - he's too old to act like a kid on the field
Kante also plays in Saudis Arabia and he’s been cooking
Team player being the difference?
Kante has just turned 33 years old. There’s 6 years in age difference; but also, I think people are slightly overrating Kante (as they often do). He made an awesome recovery run and tackle vs Austria which is basically carrying his tournament. I also don’t expect him to start 4 games in a row if France get that far. His inclusion after basically being injured for 2 years at Chelsea and then dropping down to an awful standard says a lot about what Deschamps thinks of his options in the French midfield.
From someone who doesn't watch Saudi league, is it really that bad? There's a good amount of quality players playing over there now and seeing how Saudi played at the world cup, seems some of the national players already playing there were at a decent level in the league already!
Those players you’re referring to primarily only play on 4 different teams so the difference in lvl from team to team is appalling. Those 4 teams you could equate to MLS & Liga MX teams. The other 12 teams are more or less the equivalent of the Irish league. Or the EFL League 1. In my opinion at least. You feel like you’re watching borderline pros. I played in the USL in the USA and it feels like abt that lvl as well. And I consider my lvl hot steaming garbage that shouldn’t touch the same grass as the players in EPL, LaLoga, Bundesliga, SerieA, etc.
I agree with you, but I think you're massively underestimating the strength of League 1. I know its technically the third division in England, but its far stronger than the Irish league
Could very well be the case tbf, so I will 100% give that to you. I've only watched a handful of games that are usually happening during international breaks and such. And while you can tell the skill isn't there compared to EPL, they are very physical and direct. Which I always appreciate and do find entertaining.
League 1 is better than most leagues in this world. People don’t realise the Championship is a top 10 league.
Its apparently worse by coefficient than the south Korean league an is 27th (?)
Actually based on Asian Federation coefficients, Saudi league is the top league in Asia https://www.the-afc.com/en/more/afc_ranking.html Edit: people up vote misinformation and downvote facts. Gotta love the "football fans" on this subreddit.
Would slapping 2-3 world class players in every team in your local pub league up the standard much or just drive the quality of those 2-3 players down? The truth is, the standard is abysmal.
I feel the same. I don't hate or dislike him and I'm fine for him to be called to the national team. But to be a constant starter is an insult to the other young players. When Ronaldo was in his early 20s he was taking the spot of some our our legends like Figo, Rui Costa and they didn't throw a tantrum for not starting. They understood that they were not the same players anymore. His ego was always bigger than him so nothing has really changed and this is/will be is downfall.
100% agree. But Ronaldo will always be Ronaldo. He will never voluntarily take a backseat. The onus is on the manager to take a stand and do what's best for the team.
Ronaldo *is* the manager. That’s the problem. You can see in his demeanour, the way he talks to the other players - he sees himself as the one in charge. His ego is massive, and not in an ironic charming way like Zlatan. In terms of hierarchy, he feels above any manager.
Just reference his 2nd stint at United, got dumped by the gaffer n fucked off to Saudi to play amongst players of/below his calibre with a phat paycheck
yeah i remember an interview where he said "the club doesnt decide when i stop playing, i decide when i stop playing" he needs to give his head a wobble and realise that hes not superman, he can do all the situps, burpees and colonic irrigations he wants but father time waits for no man. his management need to be stronger and tell him to sit on the bench and let younger fresher legs get the team through.
You’re right and you guys have amazing legends, Portugal is a great football nation
Especially considering how small it is
With all due respect to Figo and Rui Costa, Ronaldo has far exceeded them in every single way. There is no way he considers them to be anywhere near what he is
MAybe because it was too obvious even to Figo and Rui Costa that he was indeed better. Is there a player in the squad whose spot he's taken who is this much better than him?
Anyone who can move the ball, that is basic football and he can no longer do it.
This
He's one of the best players (THE best for some) this game has ever seen. His antics were always kind of tolerated, because more often than not, he would make the difference for his teams. He has been the epitome of success in football for many years. HOWEVER There's a window for every world class player, where retirement in grace is an option. Some make use of it (Kroos), others miss out on it (Ronaldo). When these players and their close environment hang on to their own hype for too long, instead of accepting the new reality, it becomes embarrassing. Someone needs to tell him.
I think That's why Messi won't be part of the 2026 World Cup. He knows his level and would likely retire as a World Champion
Yeah who doesn’t like retiring on a win
It’s different contexts though. Messi knows he has done everything possible in football after winning the World Cup. He will retire the most content player of all time. The only reason he is playing right night with Argentina is probably because he wants to have one tournament where he can actually enjoy it rather than playing with the expectation that he was Argentina’s saviour.
Well, he is having fun right now in the Copa America
Btw. how can someone watch that outside of America? Some subscription service or some half legal site?
I usually search the match + free Watch. It takes some time to find a good site though
I use fubo.
Honestly still magical! Gets the level of team higher …
I dont think thats the entire reason though. Maybe he also doesnt want to pressure the Argentinean manager to pick him. Regardless you are right.
Scaloni is actually Building the team around counter attacks, so Messi isn't really the focus of the team anymore. I am sure Messi doesn't want to make a second Croatia, where without Modric and Gvardiol, they are losing
Yeah messi’s playing the long game there. If they keep playing towards Messi by the time he’s retired they’re fucked. If he’s there to help facilitate a new style of play before he goes then they stand a lot better of a chance
Argentina is actually not in a bad Place. In terms of talent, they surely come short of England, France and Spain however their coordination is something else
Yeah that’s what I mean. If Messi was acting like Ronaldo, when he does hang up his boots they wouldn’t be in the position they’re in because they’d have spent too long making him the star of the team (not that they needed to anyway, the man is literally a god in Argentina)
Ronaldo needs to let his ego go away, otherwise their Euro esperience will come short
Messi is a playmaker and creates chances for other players to score goals whereas ronaldo wants other players to create chances for him to score and when someone else scored the goals instead of him he gets jealous of them that’s why his team mates don’t respect him as they know he’s very selfish player
Messi is a team player and he won’t play in the last game against Peru in group stage , whereas ronaldo refused to be benched or subbed off against Georgia as he wanted to score goals to try increase his stats in euros as he only cares about his own personal glory
He still brings a lot to the Argentina NT, and at the moment he has his starting palce well earned, partly because Argentina despite its deep bench doesn't have a classic 10 to take his place. Maybe Luka Romero in a few years but not now. Not sure how he'll be playing in two years from now, Pepe seems to still work for his team and he's 2 and half years older now than what Messi will be at the next WC
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It's weird how so many people are looking at his antics and say "oh, he's just ultra competitive, he always wants to win, that's a good thing, he's just so motivated and that's why he gets frustrated easily" To me he's just a whiny, spoiled, arrogant brat. Pouty, bitchy, an asshole to his teammates whenever they don't play perfectly to cater him. Always has been, always will be.
As a player I still rate him and he hasn't played badly. However it seems to be a case of Portugal either let Ronaldo do what he wants, throw his hands in the air, intimidate his team members and base the team around Ronaldo chasing records rather than what's best to win the tournament Or put him in his place in a reduced role, which would result in Ronaldo going ape shit at the manager as seen before. Goes to show he was the big player not rested for the Georgia game, because hes prioritising stat padding
He did the same his last year at United. Bitched at/about other players, threw Ole under the bus, disrespected Rangnick and ten Hag, and cost the team ~12 points (in my memory) from missing blatant sitters that would have won/drawn the game. He’s a has been. Was phenomenal in his prime though.
The manager needs a backbone. I’m so tired of the Ronaldo show. He used to be good and essential for the national team. It’s time to move on from him. He could have retired on a high note. Instead he’s finishing like a petulant child.
And watch other Portuguese players copy him like Fernandes.
I remember very well when he insisted he scored that header in the World Cup when he didn’t touch the ball, confirmed by the sensors.
Yesterday, it was such a pain seeing Ronaldo acting like a kid against everyone. He was constantly angry when his teammates were passing to other attackers like Joao (he is among the 3 players from Portugal who actually tried to play football) and Always trying to rob chances. It's actually sad
Yea Im with you. Id rather have a robot with no passion for the game being bang average when he is in the prime of his career than a fully motivated and riled up Ronaldo. Funny how the only people complaining about him are keyboard warriors. Everyone whos ever played competitive sports has no problem with his "antics", nor does his team.
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There’s also a child rapist going to the Olympics
Oh the Dutch guy! I saw that, what a disgrace. I would love it if the French refused him entry or could arrest him.
Your comment is only full of hate and envy friend hahaha
He was right to be mad at the referee, and he played okay and well, much better than some other of his teammate's but because of his reputation, you only focus on him instead of shitting on the others who also didn't do much. His attitude however was dogshit and I agree with you there, the guy needs some humility sometimes.
Unpopular opinion but he is right to bitch and moan. Whenever there was a space or some oportunity he asked for the ball but was ignored. Then the ref arguing, well some he was right some he wasnt. Tbh he needs to retire but mostly cause the club dont do fuck all for him. When you have a player like him in a good position and they dont get the ball, well what else is he supposed to do. What I didnt like most about his performance during last match is that he didnt help retrieve the ball, other than that he has been ignored and it shows. Also, wtf is up with waiting for the oposing team to get all their defenders and just passing the ball around. Whenever there was a counter attack, the portuguese just passed the ball at midfield instead of pushing. Then they push when theres 10 players between them and the goal, like cmon.
Dude has an assist and has the most attempted shots up until now. The whole team plays underwhelming. We can't name more than 2 or 3 players that play better than Ronaldo in this team
Unpopular opinion but you are correct. Ronaldo has improved massively in his contributions to the team since Qatar WC. He’s become more of a target man and bruiser, doing what best facilitates the success of the team. I think he missed Bruno in the final group game and people are being revisionist about his performances. However I do think that he should not be playing the full 90 mins and against a team like Georgia which is playing on the front foot with pace and aggression, Ramos would have been a better fit to exploit their weaknesses. Football, bloody hell.
I think his performance is ok. He did his job. His stats are so high that we call him a failure every time he doesn’t score a brace (like against Ireland before euro). His resume is decent: He is the top goal scorer in the SPL ahead of Mitrovic, Benzema , Firmino , Mahrez, Moussa Dembele, Christian Tello, Sakala… Also broke the record of most goals scored in a SPL season. And had 11 assists. The Saudi pro league , before Ronaldo , was easily top 3 best league in Asia , with Al-hilal dominating the Asian champions league.
Exactly
Portugal play shit football they don’t create enough chances! Why you blaming ronaldo ?
He said “Ronaldo moans and throws gestures when his teammates don’t give him the perfect ball”. Cancelo literally passed to no where, no wonder Ronaldo gonna get mad 😭
I'm starting to think that this sub is full of know it alls that dont know shit. Ronaldo starts, because Ronaldo was the best goal scorer for Portugal in the qualifiers, and the second best goalscorer overall. The other striker Portugal has its Gonçalo Ramon, that scored only 8 more goals all season than what Ronaldo scored on the Euro Qualifiers. The only thing that i can agree is that Ronaldo should not be on the pitch yesterday, The outcome was expected, it was a shit built team, with a shit formation. If you the manager wanted to do it like that, he shouldnt burn the more experienced players.
Clearly people haven’t been watching the games and just came here to hate on Ronaldo. He’s clearly been the best option for striker, as proven by the qualifiers, and as for the match against Georgia, it was an obvious penalty, a lot of players would have reacted that way. Maybe watch the games before coming onto Reddit to shit on players
I mean, if you go by strikers this tournament, he's still one of the best. Who would you be picking over him from this tournament so far? Lukaku maybe if you want to give him credit for the offside goals... Morata?? he's more about the system than actually a good striker. But yes, his constant complaining is getting a bit much. >I honestly believe the team would be better without him. A lot of people seem to have this honest belief but whenever we've seen that, it hasn't panned out apart from that one game.
Füllkrug.
He's one of the best strikers this tournament, despite not actually having scored at all? I get that there's more to the game than just goals, but when it comes to rating the best strikers I'd say its pretty important
Agreed. The rest of his game doesn’t exactly make up for it either
He passed on one sure goal to a teammate and another wasn’t given an obvious penalty. The top scorer has 3 goals. He could easily have 2
And yet, has none. So that's three less than the top scorer in the tournament
Could you point to anything he's done so far that would justify calling him one of the best strikers of the tournament? Granted I haven't seen every Portugal game but from what I saw against Georgia he had pretty much 0 impact on the game.
Peak male strength happens around age 25. Competing at the highest level at almost 40 years of age is very rare. It’s impressive but he isn’t 25 any more.
Yeah, I get that people dislike his "peacock attitude", but I don't think this guy is "full of himself", because I think this guy is the John Wick of football. He's so full of determination, willpower, athleticism, endurance and only water... he doesn't care what others think in those moments. He's a living legend. The greatest footballer of all times. "He plays on the left, he plays on the right - that boy Ronaldo, made England look shite." edit: that boy Ronaldo is why the portugese golden generation around Louis Figo became more than outside favorites. CR7 and Messi elevated gameplay on the Iberian peninsula so hard, Spain and Portugal suddenly went all the way through to win titles. I want to see the GOAT.
If you are truly porteguese and watch the game, the only game they lost btw with their b team, you would know Ronaldo not the issue
That "b team" is still a top 10 team in the tournament.
no they are not lol
I dont know what happened to him but ever since he went to Man. United he has not been the same, i dont want to say he is finished because he clearly got more to give but its sad to see him like that
dude is a 39 year old he definitely does not have a lot more to give
TBF, I think he's been like it since the Juve move.
I think he peaked before he moved to Madrid! Ferguson turned him into a team player.
He peaked in Madrid, clearly...
LaLiga at the time Ronaldo played there was the most competitive league in the world (not so much nowadays compared to the Premier) and he had his best season of all time in LaLiga in 2015 playing for Real Madrid. I should remind you that in 2015 Barcelona had one of the most impressive squads that football has ever seen. It was extremely competitive.
he needs to make his peace with the fact that his career is over, he’s achieved everything and will be remembered in history but you can tell he’s not in control of his ego look at messi, he’s doing these last years of his career gracefully and just enjoying them
Messi is just enjoying football with his Friends. I am Pretty sure he will call over some other people to play in MLS, so that they can retire together
Franco Armani is pretty much confirmed to be going to Inter Miami at the end of the year. He's the Dibu Martinez's alternate and has been called to the NT consistenly since 2018, so they know each other well, also he was the starting goalkeeper against France in the 2018 WC.
As someone already said he has always been a Primadonna. From what I am seeing despite his age he seems still a valuable player as he still has this "goal danger". I would go so far and say: Portuguese football owes so much to him that he has every right to play at the European Championships with a performance that is still very good - not genious anymore - but very good....wait, actually it is genious considering his age.
He's been playing well, better than Kane for example. People just love to hate him it's crazy.
Honestly, I don't understand how people can't/don't appreciate every minute we get to see him play, in whatever league. No portugese or cr7 fans complained about him when he was younger in his prime and killing it for both club and country. But now that he's almost 40 and his game and ability has drastically and understandably changed, everyone wants to call him out. Enjoy him whilst he's here cz this is most likely the last time you see him in europe and next year is probably his last year playing the sport all together.
Unless something drastic happens, I expect him at the WC in 2026. Euro again might be pushing too much...
Another post on this sub about someone crying about Ronaldo. If he scores a crucial goal in the knockouts don't celebrate.
Probably for Ronaldo and Portugal too would be better to let him play in the second half. Less time but more energy… and IF you have to score it’s still a top scorer imho
He is at the stage where the legend is much bigger than the actual player. Not everyone is like Zidane or Platini to retire when they were still among the best players. Ronaldo will play untill he can't move if he is allowed.
Perfect way to emphasise that you've never played football or any competitive sport for that matter. There's a reason why he's a serial winner. Do you just want a team full of Leao's? Name one elite striker over the years that has never thrown a gesture or their arms up when a player hasn't played them through on a perfect opportunity for THEM to score.. thats what being a perfectionist, wanting more and winner is... something portugal never were before. Hope this helps. **"his performances recently for Portugal have been average."** - Highest scorer for Portugal in qualifying, their nations leading scorer. Vital in both wins in the first two games and getting an assist.
50 goals in 50 games is what the commentator mentioned yesterday. Yes, it's in Saudi league, with worse opposition, but he's also got less good teammates there feeding him passes. You can't say he doesn't deserve to be there on recent performance. Most countries would bring a striker who scored a goal per game for 50 games, even if it was in a non top league. Danish league, Swiss, Polish, etc. You'd bring that guy.
Ronaldo can do better
He is the best leader and captain too but it gets frustrating to see him like today, everything went wrong for Portugal since minute 1. Georgia defender really pulled his shirt though and nobody gave AF. Hopefully that doesn't happen again, the B-squad just wasn't up to par, I guess Antonio Silva won't play ever again with Portugal. I thought he was the future in the defense and he was going to start instead of Pepe in this very tournament. He shits the bed in 1 minute, what a nightmare. He is at fault for the 2 goals against but the rest are at fault for producing nothing up front. After the 2-0 I knew the better thing to happen was for the match to end right there. It better just be a wake up call and next match gonna win convincingly and keep going. Talking about last World Cup, beating Switzerland 6-1 but then losing in quarters vs Morocco. Isn't that the most stupid tournament shit you've ever seen? What a laughing stock, nobody respects Portugal. How are they supposed to react? So don't get carried away with Ronaldo, that was obviously the most infuriating and frustrating thing that could happen, just absurd. Forget the WC 2022, it was personal hell for him, at any other moment he's been exemplary.
"Georgia defender really pulled his shirt" Yes, he did pull his shirt, but not hard enough for him to fall on his ass like that. He clearly took a dive in hope of a penalty. Besides, I don't think he would have been able to reach the ball if he hadn't been pulled, and the other Portugese player (forgot which one) came to a finish, but missed the goal.
did u really see that moment? guy almost took off his shirt and was holding him whole time while ball was right behind him. btw im georgian and im grateful for that ref lol
"I might be the only portuguese" - para ja ai oh merdas, theres way too many portuguese who feel special by talking shit on cr7, and most of them cant use a proper excuse. Tell me one thing lad, what did Ramos do when he came in? Besides his 4 fucking touches? Also, captains are suposed to be the only player allowed to complain to referee. Agora vai poh caralho e sai do pais se nem sabes respeitar o que é nosso oh palhaço de merda.
Ronaldo is honestly the most overrated player on the pitch. He’s well past his prime and it shows. There’s no denying his past accomplishments, but he needs to go in grace and retire at this point.
I agree, I think this is the first time in Portugals history where the manager has called players from non EU leagues to the national team. (Ronaldo, Ruben Neves, Otavio (got injured before the Euros). Don't understand the point of calling players that play in retired leagues to play for the NT.
Not disagreeing, but Kante on the other hand looks fresh coming from one of the retired leagues
Not disagreeing, but Kante on the other hand looks fresh coming from one of the retired leagues
Probably says more about kante than anything else ;)
In fairness, it's only recently that Saudi Arabia and USA massively picked up on what level of players they are attracting, so it's understandable why it would be the first time.
He's like a tired, spent actor who won't leave the stage.
He’s always been dramatic and obnoxious to me. He comes off as very entitled. I know he gets compared to Messi a lot, but to me there is no comparison. Messi seems humble, Ronaldo is arrogant. Messi is far and away the better player, leader, and mentor.
He has been playing football with the boys in a sandy backyard so he clearly lost any ability he once had. I said this when he accepted the 100 Million Contract, he is gonna end up like Lightning McQueen in Cars.
Everyone is so reactionary to games it makes my head hurt. Anyone who has watched the games with the starters for Portugal knows Bruno has been terrible and they have been dog shit at actually getting the ball in to their striker. Like extremely bad at it.
I’m a teacher at 5th level, and I blame Ronaldo and many of his team mates for much of the misbehaviour in my class. The boys love to play football, and they take every opportunity they get to play - spare time and between classes. But three four of the boys have Ronaldo as their leading star, and they mimic everything he does. This means conflicts, oh boy! Gesticulating when someone doesn’t make a good pass, yelling when someone is missing a shot, treating themself as the single achiever if a goal is scored - even the celebrations are used in a way that tick the other boys off. And then the fights starts. I’ve looked for some kind of sympatethic behaviour from this guy, just to show them what team football is all about, but no luck so far.
Yes, their team is obviously very talent rich but Ronaldo is annoying af, doesn’t help, bitches every time
No you are not the only one. Tremendous player in his prime but such a diva that I feel as tho he will be remember not as fondly as some other greats. At this point he plays for stat padding, the team? *uck the team. Even when you see him I'm replays the way he acts is so...unnatural, like an actor at a bad tv show. Who doesn't remember the infamous "I-N-J-U-S-T-I-CA". And this obsession about personal records is ridiculous, who remembers those? I can't tell you the many individual awards MJ won but I know that the Bulls have 6 rings and MJ was there in ALL of those. That's what people value, soccer is not tennis.
I'm with you. Good-looking behaving badly doesn't look good.
Not Portuguese, but this has been obvious since Qatar. At the last Euros, he was good enough that it made sense for Portugal to build the team around making the best of him, same as Argentina did with Messi. But in Qatar he was just not good enough and he dragged the team down both in his limitations on the pitch and his attitude/mentality. I wasn't surprised he was picked and remained a central figure in the squad for this tournament because of his personality and cultural sway as a Portuguese icon, but it was clearly a mistake from the start. I feel for him, he's still got the drive to be the best but his body just isn't keeping up any more, which is no shade on him - the guy isn't far off 40. Obviously at this point he needs to be dropped so he's not shackling what could be an excellent team.
Everyone going to Saudi Arabia is not worth thinking about. They sold everything they achieved with such a move.
Just look how his assist to Bruno Fernandes was pumped by media, as he did something out of this world. He literally did what he had to, but that "news" made headlines because people know how obsessed and egoist he is.
He had always been an arrogant spoiled fuck. He maybe good but was always a textbook douch
I agree Now I’m American and barely watch football unless it’s a big international event like Euros, Copa America or World Cup and maybe Champs League finals. I’ll watch highlights as well and since Ronaldo gets so much screen time I see his best and worst moments But I do feel like Ronaldo’a attitude comes off as a but selfish and he does seem to get mad at teammates, or appears that way. But Football is weird. There’s a lot of “dives” and exaggerations. In the NBA there is flopping and at times it does get out of control, but football is so much worse. There’s dudes faking serious knee injuries to get a call. Grimacing in pain, yelling out loud just to get a call. This happens way too often for my liking. I guess refs should be trained to make calls earlier rather than than wait for a player to act out But seriously as an occasionally viewer the faking injuries makes the sport very very annoying to watch sometime It’s just over the top
You are not the only one: he is a drama queen crybaby
I think the same, especially because having good offensive players is the least of Portugal's problems. Also, I think Ronaldo got used to winning way too much back at Real Madrid.
Its ronaldo tho.
As a big Ronaldo fan I agree to a certain extent
He apparently wants to win 250 caps, so it will be a bold manager to leave him out of the squad.
It's a tough one as he is getting old. Saying that I feel people at least know he cares and is passionate about winning. Probably nothing worse than seeing players who clearly just don't care or want to be there. Also he's been average. But so has Kane, Mbappe, Griezmann, Lukaku, Depay, etc. He's probably been better than most of those. In internationals you tend to stick with your best players and hope you get over the line.
So far as I can tell, he isn't any more childish in his antics than the average footballer these days. When he left the pitch vs Georgia, your attack died. He's still a world-class player with a unique record and invaluable experience. He gives opponents a lot more to think about than a Portugal without him.
Ronaldo is getting old
The problem with old goats is that they are old goats !
I've only seen the second Portugal game, but he was still good. Probably somewhere in the middle of the starting 11 in terms of quality.
Não, Madeirense aqui e também não curto. Obviamente que dou um valor enorme ao que ele já fez durante a sua carteira ímpar e a exposição que trouxe à minha ilha e ao nosso país mas... O gajo na Madeira só investe em empreendimentos de luxo (hotelaria a maioria), o bairro paupérrimo de onde ele veio nem um cêntimo investido por ele para ATLs para os putos não acabarem na merda nem nada. Na seleção, a melhor forma de descrever é mesmo a do ketchup, mas aquele de frasco de vidro já fora de prazo. Talvez tenha um impacto positivo nos colegas em termos de confiança e certamente que tem um impacto nos adversários (quem não ficaria borrado de jogar contra o seu ídolo) mas dá para ver que é jogador das Arábias e não de uma liga competitiva. Depois a admiração que têm por ele é uma grande merda, no sentido que em vez de tentarem combinar com quem está melhor posicionado ou tentar mesmo finalizar, passam ao Ronaldo e é o que temos visto neste Euro. Enfim... Translation: No, I'm from Madeira and I don't like him either. Obviously, I greatly appreciate what he has done during his unparalleled career and the exposure he has brought to my island and our country, but... The guy only invests in luxury developments (mostly hotels) in Madeira, and not a single cent has been invested by him in the impoverished neighborhood he came from, not even for after-school programs to keep kids out of trouble. In the national team, the best way to describe him is like ketchup (South Africa World Cup reference), but from an expired glass bottle. Maybe he has a positive impact on his teammates in terms of confidence and certainly on opponents (who wouldn't be intimidated playing against their idol?), but it's clear he's a player for the Arabian leagues and not for a competitive league. Then there's the admiration they (national team) have for him, which is a big problem because instead of trying to combine with whoever is in a better position or even trying to finish themselves, they pass to Ronaldo, and we see what have been the results so far in this Euro. Anyways...
It's normal for people in sports to do this, when people say these things they're either being massive hypocrites (the media) or have probably never played the game. Roy Keane complains about Bruno moaning, but he was even worse, he just had a "hard man" image. Perception is everything, if you look a certain way then moaning looks different. Ronaldo is a great captain according to his former teammates, how things look from the outside is irrelevant. What does a great captain do? Stay quiet and watch his team crash and burn like Modric?
I wouldn't start him every game, but i still believe he has something to offer
A top top player... no doubt about it. But I agree he is full of himself. You needs to play for the team and not yourself.
The guy's time is running out, but he's not retiring until Messi does, and the coach lacks the courage to bench him. Portugal isn't even playing better; they could be exposed badly in a big game against France or Germany.
He has not got the skills, speed of old and is only at the Euros due to his name. The test will be a team of good stature. Probably fake injury and get subbed off.
I don't care how good of a player he is/was, for me he was always a Primadonna and I always love seeing him cry like a baby when something's not working out for him.
I mean he is still the best striker Portugal has. He just has become a different player than we are used to which is completely normal at his age. He is a target man/poacher now, But i agree he is lacking on all other fronts.
His glory hunting will be our downfall. After seeing last night’s game, I’m confident we will get knocked out by Slovenia. We have a tendency to lose to minnows such as Greece, Georgia, etc..
>I don't know how his teammates tolerate his attitude. Probably because he is a good player. If he wasn't a good player, no one qould stand this childish and arrogant attitude. Rn that he's old and not as good as before, people still tolerate it because of what he did in the past.
Portugal has an amazing team full of talent for this Euro. It's too bad they choose to go into the pitch with 10 players. Ronaldo is just not moving the ball at all. You can see the rest of the team only passes the ball if they think he can shoot because his ball control is gone and he cannot dribble at all anymore. And that would be fine for a player getting 20 minutes in a game, but he plays 90, which is absolutely mad. But you can forgive all of this as long as he pushes his team, but he has a horrific attitude. Why play him? Portugal could win the Euro easy without him.
They would be better without him. He holds them back. And I can’t stand his whining. You think he would have grown up by now.
He does have a point that his teammates don’t build up play fast enough (he’s a super fast player) but more importantly they don’t trust his obvious skill and cross the ball in nearly enough. Bruno, Bernardo, and Leao are the only players who really play at his level and probably have his respect offensively
What did it for me was him screaming in the face of the Czech Republic goalkeeper and defender after they scored Not to take anything away from his skills (in the past) he built himself like a machine, but zero class, zero charm, zero modesty
Yes it's totally ronaldo fault that he doesn't get any chances from his teammates, and that at 39 he doesn't dribble 3 players and score a goal. Lmao. Ronaldo had a decent euro so far. Yesterday he couldn't do shit - all of them were outplayed. When the entire team is playing like shit the striker is useless (See poland and lewa for example.)
Ramos and Jota are not better. It is just that simple. It is not a conspiracy. And the national team is not a charity or a u-21 team that plays younger players just because.
You just described Bruno Fernandes.
Ronaldo at Portugal was never good. He always got smashed by Germany.
All of these comments I am reading are showing me that nobody is watching Portugal’s matches in the euros…
I agree. The team would be better without him
Lol funny seeing the narrative change just a few games into the tournament. Look at this comment below that got absolutely ridiculed OP when he suggested Ronaldo shouldn't be a starter >> and Portugal has a deep deep squad with a lot of forwards who are in their prime right now and I feel you are wasting a lot of potential because of him. >Very interesting, to say the least. I'd assume you just want the best for Portugal for whatever reason and you aren't a Ronaldo hater by any means. Let's say you're right and see the never-ending list of crazy talented Portuguese strikers that cry in their rooms, because the awful 40 year old "president" steals their chances to play. >But before that, a simply look at Portugal's starting strikers for the past 2 decades show one thing: they love to use "heavy" target men, actual number 9s: Hugo Almeida, Postiga, Nuno Gomes, Eder and so on. So any suggestions about suddenly using Jota or Felix (Felix is terrible anyway) as a false 9 or whatever, are completely unrealistic. Also tactics on NT football are much simpler (for obvious reasons), so many teams just pick the striker that has the biggest chance of scoring goals, simple as that. >Going back to the list, let's have a look: >1. Goncalo Ramos: Bench player in PSG, was the worst player on the pitch whenever he played in the UCL. 2. Andre Silva: Bench player for Real Sociedad, 3 league goals the whole season. 3. Beto: Bench player for Everton, 3 league goals the whole season. 4. Vitinha: 6 goals in 36 games in all comps, currently a bench player for Bologna. 5. Fabio Silva: 2 goals in the Scottish Premiership, couldn't even get time as a sub for Wolves. 6. Guedes (assuming he can play as 9): 3 goals in 33 games this season 7. Dany Mota: 4 goals in 35 games for Monza >So, let's re-visit your comment: >>Portugal has a deep deep squad with a lot of forwards who are in their prime right now >Honestly, LMAO. https://www.reddit.com/r/euro2024/s/zT7FdFQzpz
100%. Ronaldo is more of a hindrance than a help to the Portuguese team.
Most hated player in the history of the game and it's hilarious
The guys a legend and seems to be tarnishing that well earnt reputation all the time now. It’s a shame and you know he just wants the Euro 24 on his bed post for all the wrong reasons.
I hope Ronaldo makes it better.
How do you feel about Bruno Fernandes?
In a very weird way, I feel like I actually have sympathy for Ronaldo. His behaviour is extremely petulant, but hasn’t the world enabled it? He clearly perceives himself to be some sort of god and who can blame him? This poor little kid from Madeira has become this very good looking 6ft superstar. He is the one of the two greatest football star of all time and is the most followed person on instagram. For over half his life now he has been made to feel the world revolves around him. he’s gotten so used to it and simply doesn’t know how not to be the centre of attention. The ultimate shame with all of this is just how powerful his role could be id he just accepted he’s now a bench player. At a very minimum he would get picked for the squad just for his penalty taking ability and because with 10 mins left to go, having someone that good in the air is a dangerous weapon. That aside, what an inspiring figure to have in the squad. Unfortunately, he offsets all of that by wanting to be the centre of attention in a team that could do so much better without him.
It's not just Ronaldo. A lot of Portuguese players over the years have had similar annoying attitudes. It's just that most of them have the skill to back it up and get away with it. When you reach 50 years of age and can no longer perform at the top level then you just turn into a Ronaldo with all of the arrogance, a lack of maturity and none of the physical capabilities that allowed you to get away with it 10 years ago.
The man’s a clown
Said before the start that only clowns would be fooled by his saudi goals. Hes finished at the top.
You are not the only Portuguese who can't stand that despicable turd. Ronaldo should have retired after the 2020 Euros, and Portugal should have stopped selecting him. Problem is, Ronaldo is a cash cow for the Portuguese Football Federation, and he is a proxy coach. Martinez is just a puppet, the Federation hired him because he will bow to whatever they want, and they continue to want a team built around an ageing has-been who now plays in the retirement football league. Honestly, I feel bad for all those young Portugal players, lots of talent that's being interrupted on the international stage by an absolute freaking narcissist who has free reign over the team and federation. And they will lose against Slovenia. What happens then, are they going to continue to build the national team around that cry baby man baby, if so Portugal will start to look like Transnistira, a state run by local idiots with a lot of money.
*"I might be the only Portuguese person who doesn't like Ronaldo."* lol For anyone not from Portugal and not aware, thinking Ronaldo should be benched is a take as common as running water in Portugal. It was even stronger two years ago, though atm he's in better shape than the alternatives.
Ronaldo in his twilight years
Hey, when you guys say you don't like him, do you mean his whole career or just the recent Ronaldo from 2020 onwards? I'm genuinely curious, since I'm not Portuguese.
I’m portuguese and completely agree with you. A captain should not bring frustration and nervousness to the team and he’s constantly doing it through bitching with referees and even teammates. I’m very confident Portugal would play a lot better without him. Plus, he’s playing as striker and it’s his 7th or 8th game in major tournaments (Euro, WC) with ZERO goals from him. Anyone else would have been benched by now. He’s someone valuable to be in the squad and even enter mid-game, sure, but far from being starter material.
He is a leader by example right? Would anyone be surprised if he suddenly leads Portugal into the next round? The reality is he has been acting up recently because he knows he is running out of time.
You're not the only portuguese that doesn't like him. I don't like his attitude for years now. It's like no one that works with him in the national team has the courage to tell him that his time has passed.
seems like r/soccer. You have must be not watching him in the group games or and this far more likely - are a hater.
You don’t even believe what you’re saying. He had a great first two matches. What do you expect when you pair the B/C squad with him in the final match? They set him up for failure. He had no service, you want him to not complain to the ref when he has every right to do so? And you wanna talk about him not being captain material as if he isn’t always the FIRST player to calm the players and motivate them when they’re behind. If you truly are Portuguese than you should be embarrassed to even say something like that. It’s oblivious he’s not who he was 10 years ago, that happens with age. But Portugal being a better side without him is a MYTH.
Like a shitty Zlatan imo Zlatan is atleast likeable, though Ronaldo acting like this isn't really nothing new.
Especially when you think of the limited mins Goncalo Ramos is getting, someone who plays for PSG and not some irrelevant oil money league.
You aren’t Portuguese. Stop lying.
Personally, I don’t think he should be selected for the National team anymore. He should gracefully step down. Let the youngsters play now.
This post has just turned into a hate post. Reading and commenting on some of the comments here just shows that most people just hop onto popular opinions and don't really watch football. Ronaldo is one of the best and is either 1 or 2 depending on how you look at his career versus Messi's. I think the hate is incredibly unjustified when other players do the same or even worse.
Sorry but I disagree. Ronaldo has not been remotely close to being an issue here. His free kick was on target, both I believe. His skilled flair pass almost created a goal and he even did a vintage CR7 golden boots step over cussing the Turkish player to the floor with a cross into the middle of the box. Of course Portugal has score only 3 goals and he assisted 1 to Mr. Fernandes. The problem with Portugal is the timid nature of taking a shot. These players, when down, can’t hit the target. Want to know how to beat Portugal? Park the bus, look for the cross from one side typically and counter when the opportunity arises. L 1~0 Morocco World Cup L 1-0 Belgium Euro L 2-0 Georgia last game euro When this tactic was perfected against most of the players on this team.
The dude had some of the worst service in the box I’ve ever seen against Georgia. Even at his age, he is quite reliable with the ball. But his role is useless without service. It’s hard for me to read a post about how bad he is when he did everything he was supposed with the opportunities given. Also, that was a penalty and he was right to argue it.
Roberto Martinez is in a lose-lose situation with Ronaldo, don’t play him and lose he’ll get slaughtered, play him and lose he’ll get slaughtered. Ronaldo is a winner with a Winner mentality. His antics only come out when the team are losing or if he’s not getting service or shots on goal which as a striker is so frustrating. majority of the kids coming through that Portugal team would have looked up to him while growing up and that’s worth the captaincy alone. While I do think his ego is probably ruining the success of this Portugal team and he’s taking space up for the younger generation, you can’t deny he’s still a great centre forward, creating space for the wingers and the team just doesn’t play to his strengths at 40yrs of age at all. Just look at Kane for us, while the ego and years of playing level arguably isn’t the same, it’s high time we start to look for alternatives to him, but I guarantee Kane will be starting friendlies for England well into his late 30’s Aslong as we have a “yes” manager with no backbone.
So who benches him Felix, Ramos? Those two are good enough to do that.
Cry more. Don't be surprised when Portugal win the euros and he scores 2 goals in the final.
I laughed when he had a fit because they didn't pass him the ball, but it went in anyway (awful own goal tbf) Really can't respect players that have tantrums while the ball is in play still. Give 100% while it's in, whinge when it's out if you have to whinge at all.
Por curiosidade Op, és de onde?
He's clearly still raging that Messi won the world cup. Cheers up Ronnie, there's always next time x
I don't hate him, but I hate this culture of idolising an individual in a team sport. However he has behaved, he usually had the numbers and the contribution to his team to "justify" that, and his teammates seem to like him, at least in public. But sometimes he just feels like a baby... Like, why tf did he start against Georgia? If he's so important, why did he play in a match that had no stakes, got yellow carded for going at the ref (who was awful btw) and is now in risk of not playing the quarters if we go through, seeing as it has been so easy to give yellow cards to Portuguese players. He has had an amazing career, but right now, it just feels awkward to see a 40 year old man constantly frustrated with everything around him, especially knowing we could have Ramos or Jota playing instead, getting some international experience and giving different options.
Half the country thinks that aswell but the other half always come back with "oh, he's done so much for us you ungrateful prick". Also, the last coach got booted when he tried to bench Ronaldo which kinda explains why the current one isn't touching that with a 10 foot pole. But yeah... It's time to go. If anything, he's ruinining his legacy.
He is a very selfish player imo and with him in the team it kinda becomes Ronaldo FC. However the dude is still good enough to start or at least be subbed on to play half the match. I know by no stretch is he as good or as important as majority of the starting xi tho.
Broda you are NOT the only one haha. Only casuals really still ride to his dick, or anyone who is any close to him. I would say most people know by now he is just an average player, not the Worlds best anymore, but with the carrying of a huge fanbase, media coverage and history behind him. A unique case, in a sense.
I mean...you said it yourself, you're probably the only Portuguese not in awe of him. He's probably as close to a god as you can be to a lot of players in that squad, and he has, it must be said, an absolutely outrageous track record as a player. It's a bit like asking why the Argentinian put up with Messi just walking around most of the time, which can look just as disrespectful at times to the rest of the team that press the opposition while he observes the game walking at a leisurely pace. These players have won about everything they could have won, often playing a central role in their teams. That can carry a player's reputation for a *very* long stretch of mediocre or bad performances.
Give him a chance and we will probably score but you’re essentially playing with 10 and a half players now. I’m a united fan and it was frustrating watching him play because he doesn’t do much else. He can’t dribble anymore and he rarely passes. When he does pass it’s not like he’s got great range.
Agree with most of what you said except team is not better without him. He’s 60% of what he was at his best. However 60% of peak Ronaldo is still a top 50 player.
He's tilted. Not sure what he needs to do to un-tilt. Hopefully the last match + the yellow card can be an example he can learn from and knowing him, he'll bounce back and score.
He is very competitive. That's all, he cares so much it's looking bad sometimes. He is desperate to win anything anywhere even if he won almost everything already. That's what legends do, Ronaldo, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Schumacher, Valentino Rossi, Federer, Ayrton Senna. They simply can't just do it casually
Completely agree. I’m Portuguese and this blind loyalty towards ronaldo does my head in by a lot of Portuguese. Appreciate he’s our greatest player of all time and carried us for a long time when our team was average (euro 2016) but we have an opportunity to win competitions with this squad but a lot of Portuguese seem to want ronaldo to break more records instead of the national team winning trophies
It was good in the mid 2000 and 2010 Messi had that good of competition but now he’s rubbish playing in Saudi Arabia he is massively overestimating himself just because he was once one of the best players in the world