"I don't think he's got it in him" - When Cristiano Ronaldo's former Manchester United teammate told him to quit Portugal national team
Gary Neville urged Cristiano Ronaldo to retire from the national team after the performances at EURO 2024. He claimed that the Portuguese superstar is weighing down the team and needs to step aside.
Speaking on StickTo Football: The Overlap, Ronaldo's former Manchester United teammate Neville was in agreement with Ian Wright and Roy Keane. He pointed out that Ronaldo was not good enough but simply replacing him would not change things for Portugal. He said:
"This dynamic of unbelievable desire, self-fight, determination – all those things that you love about him [Ronaldo] – how overbearing is it for the rest of the players and the manager and the country? There's two things – one, the player sometimes knows when to let it go, but there are some players who don't and need telling but there is an element of who tells him [Ronaldo]. I don't think he's [Ronaldo] got it in him.
"At the end of the day, I'm not saying that if they [Portugal] had played with Diogo Jota they would have done better at this tournament or not do better, but that overbearing nature of his presence is huge – it was at [Manchester] United at the end."
Cristiano Ronaldo finished EURO 2024 without a single goal in the tournament. He missed a penalty against Slovenia but scored in the penalty shootout to help them progress.
Ian Wright also urged former Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo to retire
Ian Wright also spoke about Cristiano Ronaldo and stated that the Al Nassr star should consider retirement from the national team. The Arsenal legend believes that the Portuguese superstar does not have it to deliver at the level anymore:
"The way he played in EURO 2024, as great as he's been, surely Diogo Jota must be disappointed that he couldn't get on that pitch. What I saw of him [Ronaldo], he can't cut it at this level now. As good as he is, as fit as he is, as driven as he is, you can see he just can't quite get it out of his feet to get a shot in, the movement with a header, he can't get past a defender now."
Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted that his time on the pitch is coming to an end. However, he has no plans to retire from the national team yet.