By Toby TAIWO
Legends Thierry Henry and Luiz Figo have predicted that Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal’s current captain is no longer a positive addition to the team
After looking at statistics in the farewell match against Nigeria on Wednesday, the former top delivered their verdics.
“Honestly, when I look at Cristiano Ronaldo now, I feel a bit sorry for him because I think he wasikers said nlucky at international level. I genuinely think Portugal would have had a 90% chance of winning the World Cup. But let’s leave emotions aside. At his age, Ronaldo being a guaranteed starter can be a disadvantage for the team at times, because he simply can’t do the things he used to do in his prime. That’s not criticism — that’s just the reality of football and getting older,” said Henry.
As for Luiz Figo, he said: “I know it’s Cristiano Ronaldo and I know everything he has achieved in football, but we have to be honest about what we saw. That chance against Nigeria is one he would have buried without thinking in his prime. The concern isn’t the miss itself. It’s that Portugal are heading into a World Cup and people still expect Ronaldo to carry the entire attack on his shoulders. For me, that’s unrealistic at this stage. Portugal have too much young talent to depend on one player, no matter how great he is. Ronaldo can still be important, he can still score goals and decide matches. But if Portugal want to win the World Cup, the frontline cannot be built around him alone anymore.”
