At 41, Cristiano Ronaldo’s problem is not his age. It is that nobody seems willing to tell him to his face what everyone else can see. In Portugal, patience for the legend has run dry.
Ronaldo is not fit to be a Portugal starter any more. What would have sounded like a treasonous statement a few years ago now looks an obvious truth. At least to everyone except the national team manager, Roberto Martínez, and his coaching staff.
More than the shock of Portugal drawing against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – a team that had never earned a point at a World Cup – Ronaldo’s future has been the country’s biggest talking point. Whether you’re on the subway, walking your dog through the park or doing your shopping, you can’t escape the debate. It raged before the tournament and is deafening now.
Before discussing Ronaldo’s form, let’s get a few things straight. As a Portuguese citizen, football fan and journalist, I feel indebted to him. Travel to almost any corner of the globe, mention where you are from and his name will probably be the first thing you hear in response. People will ask whether you like him. They will recall a goal he scored against their favourite team. They will tell you where they were when they watched him play.
At the height of Ronaldo’s rivalry with Lionel Messi, choosing the Argentinian felt almost unpatriotic. Family lunches descended into chaos when the subject came up and two uncles had opposing views. Few athletes have done more to project the image of their country and Ronaldo has the merit of having done so since the early stages of the social media boom.
But that legacy is beginning to suffer. It is hard to understand why Martínez continues to start Ronaldo and, even more puzzlingly, leaves him on for the full 90 minutes. Against the DRC, he touched the ball 25 times, the lowest number of anyone who played the entire game for Portugal. He neither threatened the opposition goal nor disrupted the DRC’s defensive structure in any meaningful way.
The DRC midfielder Ngal’ayel Mukau in effect said as much after the match: “We know that he isn’t the same as before. He is a little bit older now. But still, he is one of the greatest to play the game. We have much respect for him.”
Can you imagine an opponent saying that about Ronaldo in 2016? Today, it reflects a reality that the vast majority of people can plainly see. Portugal have one of the best squads in the world, with players such as Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes and João Neves. They do not need Ronaldo to start any more.
So, who is responsible? Ronaldo is among the least culpable. It is natural for a footballer, regardless of age, to want to play as much as possible – especially someone with his relentless competitive drive, the quality that allowed him to conquer multiple leagues and countries.
More surprising is Martínez’s approach and that no one in Ronaldo’s inner circle appears willing to tell him what has become increasingly obvious: if he truly wants to serve the team, he should approach the coach about taking a reduced role.
Players of his stature have a duty to recognise when they are no longer contributing to the team as they once did. By continuing to occupy a position he can no longer justify on merit, he is holding Portugal back and damaging the image he spent his career building.
Should Ronaldo be part of Portugal’s World Cup squad? Absolutely. A player with his experience remains invaluable off the field. He can guide younger players through high-pressure moments, provide leadership from the sidelines and serve as a source of inspiration. It would be naive to ignore his commercial value for the tournament and the Portuguese football federation, and there may be moments when it would be useful to bring him off the bench.
The saddest part of the story is that the greatest player in Portuguese football history risks seriously tarnishing his legacy. How will he be remembered? As the boy from humble beginnings who left Madeira at a young age, moved to Lisbon alone and conquered world football? Or as the ageing superstar who tried to defy time and ended up a shadow of his former self?
Ronaldo no longer tracks back during defensive transitions. He lacks the explosiveness and relentless movement that once defined him. These were observations that many privately acknowledged years ago but hesitated to voice publicly. Now they are impossible to ignore or stay silent about.
Fernando Santos recognised this during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when he made the bold decision to leave Ronaldo out of the starting lineup. For the first time, his untouchable status within the national team was challenged. When Santos departed, a reset button was pushed and Ronaldo returned to being an automatic starter.
Will this criticism motivate Ronaldo to work even harder? Absolutely. Can he still prove everyone wrong? Realistically, no. Would I like him to enjoy a dignified farewell on football’s biggest stage? There is nothing I want more.