As part of the most recent development, defender Joao Cancelo made a statement that “stunned” everyone with regard to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Throughout the course of more than 15 years, Cristiano Ronaldo has been the leader who has carried the Portuguese team. There is no doubt about this. Due to the fact that CR7 is becoming older, he will soon no longer be able to wear the uniform of the national team. Ronaldo’s worth has diminished for a number of players, including Joao Cancelo, a defender, despite the fact that he has been making consistent efforts to advance his career.
The Barcelona star made a statement earlier this week in which he discussed the dependence of the national team on Cristiano Ronaldo. He also confirmed that Portugal is not dependent on Al Nassr, who serves as the squad’s captain. As Cancelo put it:
Although he is a significant player and has been in a competition with Messi for the Ballon d’Or for the past 15 years, the best time for a football player to reach their full potential is between the ages of 25 and 32. It is true that he plays football. Although he is a significant player for us, I am also a member of the national team, so I am aware that the team does not rely solely on myself.
Cancelo believes that Ronaldo is no longer important to the Portuguese national team (Photo: GETTY).
Considering that Cristiano Ronaldo was the player who scored the most goals for Portugal in the previous year, Cancelo’s statement came as a significant surprise. The striker, who was born in 1985, was an integral part of Seleccao’s success in the Euro Qualifiers. He scored ten goals, which enabled the team to conclude the qualifiers without suffering a single loss and advance to the group stage of the tournament.
When he was playing for the national team, even Erling Haaland, who has been quite successful over the previous few years, was unable to achieve the same level of success. To put it another way, it does not appear to be prudent to minimize the significance of Cristiano Ronaldo to the national team!
Before the next match against Sweden, Portugal’s head coach had previously astonished everyone with his unexpected performance. It came as a surprise to everyone when Roberto Martinez decided to leave Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Dalot, Joao Cancelo, Danilo Pereira, Otavio, Ruben Neves, Vitinha, and Joao Felix out of the squad that would be competing against Sweden.
In light of the fact that fans anticipate this coach to put together his best squad in order to discover acceptable players before the forthcoming European Championships, this decision was taken as a significant message.
The decision that Martinez made, on the other hand, appears to have no bearing whatsoever on the performance of the players. Numerous sources are of the opinion that Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates were just provided with the opportunity to take a break.
The Saudi Pro League is now on pause for international competitions, and Captain Al Nassr is taking advantage of this opportunity to spend some quality time with his family. In light of the fact that Ronaldo has been extremely busy as of late due to Al Nassr’s schedule, this choice will provide him with the much-needed opportunity to recover.
