Germany legend backs Cristiano Ronaldo to win Euro 2024 Golden Boot
Former Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has tipped Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Golden Boot at Euro 2024. The competition kicks off on Friday (June 14) with a clash between hosts Germany and Scotland at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Ronaldo, 39, arrives at the European Championship in a rich vein of form. Coming off a 44-goal season with his Saudi Arabian club side Al-Nassr, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner starred with a brace in A Selecao's 3-0 friendly win over the Republic of Ireland in Aveiro earlier this week.
Among a slew of records Ronaldo is on the cusp of at Euro 2024 is winning multiple Golden Boot awards. The 39-year-old won the award at the previous edition in 2021, where defending champions Portugal lost in the Round of 16.
However, with Ronaldo going great guns for club and country since then, Schweinsteiger reckons the Portugal captain will repeat the feat at Euro 2024 and create more history. In a tweet, Schweinsteiger responded when asked about the Golden Boot winner:
"Cristiano Euro 2024"
Ronaldo is the competition's record appearance maker (25), goalscorer (14), most editions played (5) and most editions scored in (5).
Ahead of Euro 2024, a look at how Cristiano Ronaldo fared at Euro 2020
Cristiano Ronaldo created history at Euro 2020 by becoming the first player to appear in five editions of the competition.
By scoring in the first game, the then 36-year-old became the first player to score in five editions of the Euros, with nobody else doing so in more than three. Ronaldo scored twice in the 3-0 win over Hungary.
He followed up by bagging a goal and an assist in the next game, but the defending champions lost 4-2 to Germany. The then Juventus forward scored both goals in a 2-2 draw with reigning world champions France to scrape through to the Round of 16.
However, Portugal's campaign came to an end with a 1-0 loss to Belgium, with Ronaldo drawing a blank. Nevertheless, by scoring his second against France in the previous game, the Portugal captain became the Euros' all-time top scorer with 14 goals, surpassing Michel Platini.