With the international break coming to an end, it’s time to see the Portuguese media making a deep analysis of what happened in the games against Czech Republic and Spain, and most outlets have one topic in common, which is the form of Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Newspaper Record is one of those who go heavy on the player, as journalist Octavio Ribeiro today featuring a column with a headline which says ‘The Ronaldo problem’.
It’s said that the Manchester United player is the ‘big’ issue the national team will have in the World Cup.
That’s because he’s still to understand that he ‘no longer earns’ a place in the team, and won’t do that until manager Fernando Santos sends him to the bench.
Ribeiro claims ‘someone will have to tell Ronaldo’ that he’ll ‘lose sprints’ like it’s already happening now, just like his shot timing.
Manager Fernando Santos is highly criticised for that, as he could’ve replaced the forward at the 79th minute against Spain and chose not to.
So the column says the 37-year-old ‘dragged himself on the pitch’ since the 60th minute.
That’s why it’s said that an hour of play is ‘what this Ronaldo has to offer at a reasonable level’.
It’s claimed the player must ‘face this new reality’, and the manager is the one responsible for that.
With Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag making little use of the Portuguese star lately, it sounds like he got that message long before Fernando Santos.
