“He’s waddling around the field like a grandad”

Former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton has blamed superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal’s exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The Quinas Selection were knocked out of the tournament after losing 1-0 to Spain in the Round of 16. While Ronaldo started and played the full 90 minutes, he failed to make an impact on the game overall.

He had only 19 touches of the ball with just three of them being inside the opposition’s box (stats via FotMob). After the game, he faced severe criticism from Sutton, who claimed that he offered nothing in attack.

The 53-year-old, who played for Chelsea in the 1999-2000 season, said (via @chris.sutton9 on Instagram):

“There’s a lot of them (Portugal players) probably walking off the pitch now thinking ‘Ronaldo, you’ve killed us in this tournament. You’re the reason we’ve gone out. You’re the reason we’ve struggled in the final third.’ Why did they not throw a punch? Its because of the centre-forward.”

“Your centre-forward has to move, he has to contribute, he has to press, he has to have variation in his play and he doesn’t. He’s waddling around the field like a grandad. He does absolutely nothing. Honestly, thats why Portugal are out,” Sutton added.

Prior to the game, Ronaldo had announced that the 2026 FIFA World Cup would be his last. He exits football’s biggest stage as the only man to have scored at six different World Cups (2006-2026) and with an overall tally of 11 goals and two assists in 27 games in the competition.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal set to appoint new manager to replace outgoing Roberto Martinez after FIFA World Cup exit – Reports

According to reports from Reuters (via NDTV), Portugal are set to appoint Jorge Jesus as their new manager following their exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Just hours after their 1-0 loss to Spain in the Round of 16, Selection of Quinas’ head coach Roberto Martinez stepped down from his role. The rumour mill started to churn immediately to find out who would take over from the Spanish tactician.

Local Portuguese media reported that Jorge Jesus will take over the reins of the national team. The 71-year-old has previous experience coaching superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo; the pair won the Saudi Pro League title with Al-Nassr in the 2025-26 season.

Prior to his SPL stint, Jesus also managed top sides in the Primeia Liga including Braga, Benfica and Sporting. If he were to take the head coaching role with Portugal, it would be his first managerial stint at the international level.

With Ronaldo having announced his farewell from the FIFA World Cup, Jesus will certainly be looking towards the next generation of Portuguese talent ahead of the 2030 edition. The likes of Renato Veiga, Vitinha, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves and Francisco Conceicao among others will likely be key to his plans moving forward.