Cristiano Ronaldo is threatening to hold Portugal hostage until 2026 – Roberto Martinez needs to grow a backbone if he wants World Cup success

GOAL
Mark Doyle

OpinionC. RonaldoPortugalR. MartinezWorld CupUEFA Nations League AAl Nassr FCFEATURESPortugal vs Croatia

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner clearly cannot accept the fact that his national team would be better off without him

Cristiano Ronaldo has never had any time for his critics, so he was always going to ignore calls for him to retire from international football after his embarrassing Euro 2024 campaign.

"The people who give their opinions have never been in a dressing room," the Portugal legend recently told reporters. "I often laugh about it because it would be the same thing as me talking about Formula 1. How can I give my opinion on Formula 1 if I don't know anything about tyres, rims, or the weight of the car?"

It's a fair question. But then again, you don't have to be a former F1 driver to recognise a car crash when you see one – or an ex-professional footballer to realise when a player is finished at the very highest level.

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