Criticism poured out against Cristiano Ronaldo (39), who finished Euro 2024 bitterly.
Portugal lost to France after a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals of Euro 2024 at the Folksparckstadion in Hamburg, Germany on the 6th (Korea time). Ronaldo, who said it was his last Euro tournament, also packed up without much performance.
Ronaldo has played the most in the Euro (6 matches), played the most in 30 matches, and scored the most goals (14 goals), but showed sluggish performance as he failed to score a single goal at this year’s event. In the round of 16 matches against Slovenia, he missed a penalty kick at the end of the match and showed tears.
Daniel Riolo, a soccer critic of RMC Sports in France, gave a harsh review of Ronaldo. “Ronaldo ruined Portugal. Portugal is my personal favorite and a team with special abilities. I understand that Ronaldo is a national legend. But he has not contributed to the national team for many years.”
“It was the same with the match against France. Portugal seemed to be fighting with 10 players,” he said. “I don’t want to see Ronaldo like this. What worries me is that Ronaldo is still determined to retire from the national team.”
Critics expressed concern that Ronaldo is aiming to play in the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America. Ronaldo, who is now 39, will turn 41 in 2026. He said, “Ronaldo has scored a lot of goals for Al Nasr in the Saudi Arabian League. The 2026 World Cup could be within his sights.”
RMC Sports expressed doubt why Roberto Martinez is so obsessed with Ronaldo. “In the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, coach Fernando Santos boldly excluded Ronaldo from the starting lineup. However, Martinez adamantly refused to exclude Ronaldo from this year’s World Cup.” 핑크알바