Sport: Ferdinand Defends Cristiano Ronaldo’s Euro-2024 Participation (Details)

Former Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand has admitted that Portuguese football icon, Cristiano Ronaldo, didn’t have a good Euro 2024, but stressed that he didn’t deserve the criticism he has been getting.

Cristiano Ronaldo went through five games in Euro 2024 without scoring a goal from open play, a new low he has been battling with since 2022 in international football.

Most critics believe that age has finally caught up with the 39-year-old forward and he ought to have made way for other vibrant players in the Portuguese squad during their time in Euro 2024.

Recall that Portugal which entered into the European Championship as one of the favourites of the tournament, crashed out in the quarter-finals via penalties against France.

During the tournament, Ronaldo played almost every minute to the detriment of more youthful strikers like Diogo Jota who had little or no chance to play in the tournament. But he had nothing to show for it except a goal from the penalty spot.

But Rio Ferdinand who was a teammate of Ronaldo at Manchester United, doesn’t want critics to bully him out of the national team.

The retired English defender reminded Ronaldo’s critics that his career rival, Lionel Messi hasn’t scored for Argentina so far in ongoing 2024 Copa America but he isn’t getting the kind of criticism the Portuguese icon has been subjected to.

“He [Ronaldo] didn’t have a good tournament. He didn’t play well to the levels that he played [before]. You are [being disrespectful when you say he must leave the national team]”, Ferdinand said on his Vibe with Five podcast,

“For what he’s done, you can’t be saying that, I don’t care. They [should] just let him go out, when he wants to go out.

“What was Portugal doing before Cristiano Ronaldo? Messi hasn’t scored in the Copa America and I haven’t heard a sniff.”