The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is widely regarded as one of the most exceptional players in football history, yet his current age of 39 cannot be overlooked. Ronaldo achieved a remarkable 50 goals for Al-Nassr during the 2023-24 season, but competing in another European Championship will undoubtedly raise the competition’s intensity.
Doubts have arisen regarding Ronaldo’s ability to meet this challenge in his 11th major tournament. Portugal remains optimistic, counting on their influential captain for inspiration. However, Czechia’s Poborsky believes Ronaldo’s presence may actually benefit their team. The former Manchester United winger, who represented his country 118 times and starred in Euro 96, expressed his view to CTK, stating, “I have been saying for a long time that in that Ronaldo will be one of their weakest links. 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. 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 faced periods on the bench under Santos during the 2022 World Cup and has been cautioned that further spells as a substitute could await him. His prowess in scoring goals is undisputed, yet whether he can maintain peak performance throughout a demanding month-long tournament remains to be seen.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
This season he played in total 4 times for 412 minutes for Kings Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 3 goals for Al Nassr. He procured no assists. He received 1 yellow card and no red cards.
His team is currently 2nd in Kings Cup. In the last match Al Nassr won 4-2 against Al Ittihad.