Cristiano Ronaldo told he is ‘finished’ by his own Portugal TEAMMATE

Carlo Garganese

20 Mar 2024 10:20 GMT
3 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, 2023 — © IMAGO

Cristiano Ronaldo’s international teammate Joao Cancelo has shockingly claimed that the Portugal legend is finished as a top-level player.

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Cancelo remarked ahead of Portugal’s friendly against Sweden on Thursday that Ronaldo is well past his best.

The 39-year-old Ronaldo has been rested for Portugal’s match against Sweden and Cancelo believes they can make do without their nation’s most famous player.

What did Cancelo say?

"He is an important player and spent 15 years competing with Messi for the Ballon d’Or, but the peak of a footballer’s career is between the ages of 25 and 32,” Cancelo told RTP.

“He is an important player for us, but the national team does not depend entirely on him.”

© IMAGO - Ronaldo has been criticised by Joao Cancelo

Ronaldo turned 39 last month but is still going strong and scoring at a ridiculous rate for both club and country.

The Al Nassr star scored 54 goals in 2023, more than any other player in world football and two more than both Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe.

He also continues to be prolific for the Portugal national team, scoring 10 goals in nine games in 2023 for his country to help them qualify for Euro 2024.

Ronaldo will lead his country out at the Euros in Germany this summer, 20 years after his first European Championship back at Euro 2004 when he reached the final.

Just how Cancelo’s comments will go down with Ronaldo remains to be seen now.

The Barcelona defender is known for being outspoken and for having had problems with managers and teammates in the past, leading to his departure from Juventus and Manchester City.

Cancelo was also previously a teammate of Ronaldo at Juventus.