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Former Chelsea star Craig Burley has reacted to newly-appointed Portugal maanger Jorge Jesus saying that superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo is still important for the national team. <\/p>\n
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner started and played all but nine minutes of Portugal’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign. He bagged a brace against tournament debutants Uzbekistan and scored from the spot in the Round of 32 against Croatia.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Thanks for the submission!\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/template><\/p>\n The talismanic forward received a lot of backlash for his lack of movement which provided the Quinas Selection<\/em> limited options in attack. He was a mere passenger in the 1-0 loss to Spain in the Round of 16, which was his last game at the FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/template><\/p>\n After the game, Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez announced his decision to step down, with Jesus being named as his successor. In one of his first press conferences as manager, he announced that Ronaldo ‘will never be a problem for the national team’.<\/p>\n In the ESPN FC studio, Burley lashed out at Jesus’ comments. The 54-year-old, who made 135 appearances for Chelsea between 1990 and 1997, said:<\/p>\n “Portugal have to move on from this. I also think Ronaldo should take himself out of the team (on his own). Somebody has to say no (to him continuing with Portugal). As a country you have to move forward. We all said, coming into this World Cup, for months, that Portugal, who have a very talented squad, were never going to compete properly to win this World Cup with the 41-year-old up front.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n “You only had to look at history of the recent major tournaments to tell you that he would struggle. You have to be an absolute clown to think that if you’ve struggled in the last two or three tournaments, that six or seven years later, you’re going to be better against younger, quicker, fitter defenders. It’s just bonkers really. An amazing player, an amazing athlete and I’ve loved watching him play, but it’s over at this level,” Burley added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n With 146 goals in 233 caps for Portugal, Ronaldo is the record goalscorer and highest-capped player in the history of international football.<\/p>\n French legend Youri Djorkaeff has claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal teammates ‘boycotted’ him at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n The 58-year-old, who racked up 28 goals and 21 assists in 82 international caps and won the 1998 World Cup with France, said (via The Real Champs h\/t RMC Sport):<\/p>\n “If you take Cristiano Ronaldo, the team has to play for him, and that didn\u2019t happen at all. You could say that he was boycotted by his own team. They didn’t support him, didn’t put him in the best conditions… What I didn’t like about the Portugal national team, despite all the talent it has, was seeing everyone shift the responsibility onto Cristiano.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n “At a certain point, Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes, and the rest also had to step up and take responsibility. You can’t keep waiting for it to always be Cristiano who fixes everything. He’s not the only one who has to make a difference,” Djorkaeff added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n While Ronaldo has announced his retirement from the World Cup, he is yet to make a decision on calling time on his international career.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“He was boycotted by his own team” – French legend makes claim about Portugal’s treatment of Cristiano Ronaldo at 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/h2>\n