🚨 Roy Keane Slams João Neves For Ronaldo Remarks:
🗣️ “I’m sick of hearing this nonsense. Cristiano Ronaldo is an ordinary player? Absolute rubbish. Complete and utter rubbish. That’s one of the most ridiculous things I’ve heard in football.
If Ronaldo is ordinary, then what does that make the rest of them? What have they achieved? How many Ballons d’Or have they won? How many Champions Leagues? How many records have they broken? How many times have they carried their country on the biggest stage?
Young players need to be very careful when they talk about legends. Respect isn’t optional. Ronaldo has carried Portugal for years. Long before some of these lads were even thinking about professional football, he was delivering for his country on the biggest stages.
The irony is that the players making these comments are ordinary compared to Ronaldo’s career. That’s not an insult, it’s reality. Most footballers in history would be ordinary compared to what Cristiano has achieved.
You don’t have to worship him, and you can criticize performances, but don’t rewrite history. There’s a difference between football analysis and pure disrespect.
If Portugal have players focusing on Cristiano instead of focusing on winning matches, they’re in trouble. The opposition will be delighted. The last thing you need at a World Cup is division inside your own camp.
I’ve been in dressing rooms all my life. The teams that start arguing about their biggest players during tournaments usually don’t last very long. Talent wins matches, but unity wins tournaments.
Respect doesn’t disappear because a player gets older. Cristiano Ronaldo earned that respect many years ago, and nobody in that dressing room has come close to matching what he’s achieved.
Portugal shouldn’t be asking what Ronaldo has done lately. They should remember what he’s done for over twenty years. That’s why the fans are angry. They understand what some people have forgotten.”
🚨 Zinedine Zidane on Portugal’s performance:
🗣️ “I don’t have much to say about Portugal, but one thing is very clear: there are bigger problems than Cristiano Ronaldo playing 90 minutes or his age. What I saw was a team full of talented players who are not willing to sacrifice enough for the country. Too many of them play like club players, not national team players.
Look at the great teams in this tournament. They fight for each other, they suffer together, and they do everything to help their leader. I didn’t see that hunger from Portugal.
People say they have the best midfield in the tournament because of what those players do at their clubs, but football is about what you do together. Against Congo, they kept passing the ball between themselves without creating real danger.
If Ronaldo received ten clear chances and missed them, then blame him. But when neither he nor the other strikers get service, the problem is elsewhere.”