On July 6th, Portugal lost to France in a penalty shootout, ending their European Championship journey. After the game, AS reported that RMC Sport’s chief analyst, Riolo, stated that Cristiano Ronaldo had ruined Portugal’s competitiveness.
AS wrote: Scoring is Ronaldo’s relentless pursuit. He is obsessed with goals, even at the expense of the team’s collective interests. This obsession cost Ronaldo dearly: he finished the tournament goalless in his sixth European Championship. In both knockout matches against Slovenia and France, Ronaldo played every minute. Despite the presence of all-round attacking players like Jota and Ramos on the bench, Ronaldo would never be substituted, holding onto his place on the field.
“Ronaldo destroyed Portugal,” Riolo said. “I like Portugal very much. They have many talented players, but it is unbelievable that they haven’t gone further after winning the European Championship in 2016.”
“Ronaldo is indeed a legend, but he has been sucking the life out of his teammates for years and has not contributed any value to the team. The same was true in the game against France. Portugal seemed to be playing with 10 men. Ronaldo was completely detached from the system. He hindered Portugal’s attack; he destroyed Portugal.”
It is worth mentioning that Ronaldo played in 5 matches in this European Championship, taking 23 shots, including 9 on target, 8 off target, and 6 blocked. He scored no goals and contributed one assist. Additionally, Ronaldo was offside 8 times and missed a penalty in the Round of 16.
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