It is not often that one of the best players in the world faces heavy criticism, and even more surprising when that player is Cristiano Ronaldo. After all, the Portuguese forward has won almost everything for club and country, and has set impressive records in his long career so far.
However, Ronaldo’s failure to win the World Cup with Portugal may always cast him in a negative light for many fans. He may have a chance to redeem himself by winning another Euros trophy in the upcoming summer tournament, but one man has a different opinion.
Frank Leboeuf’s damning verdict on Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal involvement
It is former French World Cup winning player Frank Leboeuf who believes that Cristiano Ronaldo should not even participate in the upcoming Euro tournament. This is because Leboeuf who has won the Euro tournament back in 2000, believes the Portuguese team will win the tournament without their captain and star player.
Recently, the celebrated French legend in an interview said, “For me, Portugal are actually one of the contenders for this summer’s European Championships. I actually think they can win the Euros, but only if Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t play.”
He doesn't think Portugal can win the Euros with Cristiano Ronaldo 😱 pic.twitter.com/RqQ1CUHNc7
— GOAL (@goal) March 4, 2024
However, Frank didn’t just make a statement without backing it up with reasons. The former center back believes that Ronaldo has achieved a lot in the sport but also pointed out that he is no longer in Europe. He thinks that playing in the Saudi Pro League has diminished his chances of helping Portugal in the summer tournament.
Frank also highlighted his advanced age and his team’s lack of impact in major games. He acknowledges that Ronaldo has been indisputable in the qualifier games but suggests that Portugal needs to focus on their young talent instead of relying on Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo told to ‘shut up’ by Leboeuf
However, that is not the only statement Frank Leboeuf had for Ronaldo. He also made a strong remark to the player, telling him to ‘shut up.’ This is due to Ronaldo’s earlier jibe at France’s top tier league Ligue 1.
At the last Dubai Globe Soccer Awards where he won a unique award, Ronaldo claimed the Saudi Pro League was better than the French one already. He said, “I think right now we are better than France’s league.”
Leboeuf believes that Ronaldo made the remark to discredit his rival Lionel Messi, who played for French giant Paris Saint Germain between 2021 to 2023 before leaving to Inter Miami.
Frank Leboeuf 🇫🇷:
— The LM10 Timeline. (@TheLM10Timeline) March 5, 2024
"It annoys me when I hear Cristiano Ronaldo saying that the Saudi League is better than Ligue 1."
"Why do you think he chose to make that comment about Ligue 1 rather than the Portuguese League?"
“It’s because Lionel Messi played in Ligue 1, just shut up!” pic.twitter.com/WmxwRH02u7
He pointed out that Ronaldo targeted Messi and Ligue 1 both, expressing, “It annoys me when I hear Cristiano Ronaldo saying that the Saudi Pro League is better than Ligue 1. Why do you think he chose to make that comment about Ligue 1 rather than the Portuguese League? It’s because Lionel Messi played in Ligue 1.”
He gave a very strong statement to the Portuguese legend, “I have lots of respect for him as a player but come on, just shut up! It is unfair to Ligue 1.”
It seems that Cristiano Ronaldo will have to be more careful with his words now, and he will be busy preparing for his next game for Al Nassr against Al Raed tomorrow.
