“He could score 3000 goals, I don't give a f***” - Ex-Real Madrid star says ‘Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t know how to play football’ in crazy rant
Former Real Madrid forward Antonio Cassano has hit out at Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. The Italian believes that Ronaldo does not have any other talent besides his goal-scoring and considers him one-dimensional when compared to other top strikers.
Cassano said (via the Viva El Futbol podcast):
"Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't know how to play football," Cassano said. "He could score 3000 goals, I don't give a f***."
"Higuain, Aguero, Benzema, Lewandowski, Ibrahimovic and Suarez knew how to link-up with the team. They knew how to do a lot of things, unlike Ronaldo whose only objective has always been to score."
The 39-year-old forward reached yet another milestone in his prolific career recently, scoring his 900th professional goal in Portugal's Nations League tie against Croatia.
Ronaldo has established himself as one of the greats of the game. He shone in the Premier League with Manchester United before earning a big-money move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009. He became the top scorer in the Los Blancos' history, bagging 450 goals in 438 games for the LaLiga giants.
Ronaldo then moved to Juventus before returning to Old Trafford in 2021. Following a worsening relationship with manager Erik ten Hag, he left the Red Devils via a mutual contract termination in November 2022, and joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr in January 2023.
Reason for Cristiano Ronaldo's absence from Al-Nassr lineup against Al-Hazm explained
Cristiano Ronaldo has been omitted from the squad for Al-Nassr's matchup against Al-Hazm in the King Cup of Champions Round of 32. According Saudi Arabian newspaper Al-Jazirah (via GOAL), this is because new manager Stefano Pioli is keen on Ronaldo getting some rest and balancing his workload.
The former Real Madrid icon starred in the side's 3-0 win over Al-Ettifaq three days ago, getting on the scoresheet and helping his side secure a win in Pioli's debut fixture.
Ronaldo is not suffering from an injury, but missed the side's AFC Champions League clash last week against Al-Shorta with a reported viral illness. To aid his recovery, he has been rested by the Italian tactician, especially with crucial fixtures against Al-Wehda (SPL - 27 September) and Al-Rayyan (AFC Champions League - 30 September) coming up.
The 39-year-old has begun the campaign in fine fashion, bagging three goals in the league. However, Al-Nassr have not had a particularly great start, winning two and drawing two of their first four games as they find themselves in fifth place in the Saudi Pro League. They will be hoping to pick their form up to ensure Ronaldo wins his first piece of silverware in the Middle East this season.