Ronaldo has had a very poor start to the 2022/23 campaign, which began with him trying to force a move away from Manchester United.
After that failed, Erik ten Hag has been slowly integrating the forward back into his team.
However, every time Ronaldo is on the pitch, he has looked off the pace and fails to press the ball, which is a key job for all forwards in Ten Hag’s system.
Ronaldo then started in Portugal’s recent 4-0 win over the Czech Republic, but even in that match he looked subpar. There have also been calls for the 37-year-old to be dropped for Portugal’s clash with Spain on Tuesday evening.
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Despite all the critics, though, some still come to Ronaldo’s defence.
One such man is former Swansea boss Carlos Carvalhal, who is now in charge of UAE outfit Al Wahda.
He wrote on Twitter: “Ingratitude. One of the best players of all time, who has always played with pride for our national team, when perhaps for the first time, he needs support… many turn their backs and only criticize him. Maybe today they won’t blush with shame… Strength Portugal, strength CR7.”
Portugal are top of their Nations League group by two points. So they only needed a draw vs Spain to make it into the knockout stages.
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