Discussion on Cristiano Ronaldo's Career

It's really simple for me. Um, you know, we all acknowledge how

incredible Cristiano Ronaldo's been, Shabani. He's been amazing.

The amount of goals. A hundred, like I said, 143, 226 caps.

It's amazing. But the team are better without him now.

You have to accept that.

Father Time will eventually get everybody, and as great as he's been, and

what we saw in the World Cup and what I'd seen previously,

it doesn't justify a place in the team anymore. Cristiano has to accept that.

And he's been so great that he should be retiring, retiring

himself.

But did they not need to make that clearer to him?

I mean, I'm sorry, he's different.

He is the exception-

Yes

... to the rule, Cas.

Yeah, I know. Well, he is.

He's Cristiano bloody Ronaldo.

I know.

So when he gets dropped, I imagine that hits different-

But-

... because he has been a part of everything-

Well, okay

... and you're right about Father Time, but I would imagine as a player he, he

feels so disappointed or so let down. They need to manage that properly.

That is the duty of a manager.

Well-

Don't promise him games.

No, you're exactly right there. You shouldn't be promising anything to

him.

You know, there is an idea of, well, he deserves because of what he's achieved,

to

be always given the ultimate respect.

He has been, but if he won't retire and the manager's got a job and

he wants to try and take the Portugal to as far as he can in competitions and be

his best version of Portugal, which obviously didn't

happen before. Because, you know, we had a, uh,

Martinez as a manager who literally indulged Ronaldo on every level, and they

suffered from that. They weren't a good team in the World Cup.

They, they are a better team now without

Cristiano.

As much as Cristiano doesn't won't like it, they are.

Yeah. I feel a bit sorry for him with that.

I, I do though. I do.

Because it's turning on him.

He should be retiring himself. He's that good.

No, he should not be retiring.

Why?

He's not, he's not bad enough to retire.

He, he's still a world-class player.

No, he's not.

I agree with you-

No, he's not world-class now anymore

... what you're saying that they have...

But, but then they need to manage the

expectation for him.

If he thinks he still needs to start-

Yeah

... or that he's been promised games...

Like, you've been in a camp, you know what it's like.

Yeah, but I-

You've been given opportunities-

Honestly, yeah, yeah

... when you've been older.

I, I got to 38.

Exactly.

And I, and I retired myself.

E- exactly, but what's Ronaldo now, 41? 41? Yeah, 41.

Yeah. I didn't wanna-

And he's the best... He's one of the best players ever to have

graced this planet.

Yeah, I agree. He-

So just to be three years older than you, what you were when you got your final

contract.

41's quite a big difference though, Shabani, between-

No, I know, and you're right about Father Time,

but look at the guy.

He's a specimen.

Yeah, it, when he-

I don't think it falls off a cliff overnight.

I do think they're different when Ronaldo's-

Yeah

... in the side, but they need to manage the expectation of

him being a squad

player or being guaranteed minutes-

I-

... for the Portugal shirt. He deserves that.

I think he's in denial about where he is in his career, and if he wants

to achieve and play his club football internationally, he's nowhere near the

player he once was. He's nowhere near.

And if I was a manager, I would say to him, "Cristiano, I'm sorry,

I, I'm not gonna select you."

And that's what's happened to him.

But, but it shouldn't get to that. Cristiano should've g-

known after the last

World Cup. A- and he'd probably gone on to...

Look at Lionel Messi, he's just retired after the World Cup.

Mm-hmm.

He's done the right thing, Messi, because he knows it's time now.

He hasn't got another tournament in him,

and that's what Ronaldo should've done.

But he must feel that he does have another tournament in

him.

Yeah, but he does, but what I'm witnessing

and what I'm watching, he's nowhere near

the player he onc- once was.

I know, but I look at what he's did as a, he's done as an individual.

But should that justify a team in, uh, a spot in the team just because of what he

used to be?

I think he does have a place in that team.

Absolutely, he does have a place in that team.

I, I don't see who he plays. So who...

So you're gonna play-

I'm not saying starting. I'm not saying starting,

but he deserves minutes in that

team. Of course, he does. He's Cristiano Ronaldo.

No, I, I think he's more detrimental to Portugal

now than, uh, benefiting them