Follow Us on Google
The 2010 World Cup Golden Ball winner, Diego Forlan has suggested that Cristiano Ronaldo’s presence in Portugal could be hurting the team in the ongoing tournament.
Portugal face 2018 finalists Croatia in the Round of 32 at Toronto Stadium on Friday after a lacklustre performance that saw them finishing as Group K runners-up behind Colombia.
Ronaldo grabbed a brace in the 5-O demolition of bottom-placed Uzbekistan either side of quiet outings against DR Congo and Colombia.
The 41-year-old has faced criticism from pundits for his subpar output just as his perceived career rival Lionel Messi has received high praise after netting six times in half the number of games.
Other News
Ronaldo’s former Manchester United teammate, Forlan appeared to join the critics with a brutal assessment of the Portugal captain’s group stage performance.
“I’m speaking as a striker, the problem is that Cristiano is in the centre, he is who he is, he is there as a No.9, and he stays there to take advantage of the goal because he no longer goes out to look for the ball, but he ends up conditioning Portugal,” the Uruguayan said on ESPN’s ‘La Casa del Kun’ programme.
Forlan added, “It’s the typical situation where we used to say, ‘I’m staying here because I’m close to the goal to score,’ but you don’t understand that you end up hurting your team because both centre backs stay there, you don’t move. The centre backs stay put, one becomes a reference point and the other is left out. You have no one who can get to you because you start closing down that space.”
