A former Manchester United star has laid into Cristiano Ronaldo, claiming he will be among Portugal's "weakest links" at Euro 2024.
Ronaldo is set to appear at his sixth European Championships, having made his first appearance 20 years ago at Euro 2004 when Portugal were shockingly beaten on home soil in the final by Greece.
However, with Ronaldo now 39 and plying his trade in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr, his spot in Portugal's squad has come under fire. And former United winger Karel Poborsky is the latest to question Ronaldo.
Portugal are set to take on the Czech Republic in their tournament opener and Poborsky, who made more than 100 appearances for the national team, has claimed they want Ronaldo to start as he is "not as good at building the game and pressing as his younger team-mates".
"I have been saying for a long time that in that Ronaldo will be one of their weakest links," Poborsky told CTK, as per Goal. "The fans of both teams will go crazy for him, but at his age he is not as good at building the game and pressing as his younger team-mates.
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"So our team would rather him start. Hats off to him for what he has achieved – thanks to his enormous self-confidence. But you can't stop age, he is 39.
"We don't know how he is with coach Roberto Martinez, but it was written about before that his predecessor Fernando Santos already encountered a problem at the World Cup in Qatar." Ronaldo was benched by Santos during the knockout rounds of the 2022 World Cup, with Goncalo Ramos preferred up top.
Poborsky has claimed Cristiano Ronaldo will be one of Portugal's "weakest links" at Euro 2024 (AP)However, Ronaldo has continued to star under new boss Martinez, having scored 10 goals in qualifying, and he has also hit back at suggestions the forward has only made the squad because of his reputation.
"Cristiano is in the national team on merit," Martinez insisted."Nobody gets into the national team by just having a name. Cristiano scored 50 goals in 51 games – consistent with his club in his league – and he scored [10] goals in our qualification rounds.
"He's a goalscorer and, for us, he's someone who can make that final move. He can stretch defences and open spaces. Over the years, he has changed his way of playing slightly, but I can only say that Cristiano is in the national team on merit and the numbers are there to back that up."
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