“It’s not possible to cut at this level”: Cristiano Ronaldo ridiculed by Arsenal legend

Former England striker and Arsenal great Ian Wright believes iconic Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo is no longer “cut out” to play at the highest level. Ronaldo and Portugal’s Euro 2024 campaign ended after France handed them a penalty shootout defeat in the quarter-finals. After his prolific season with Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, goals were expected from the Portuguese goalscoring machine. However, for the first time in his illustrious career, Ronaldo failed to score a single goal in a major competition.

After Portugal were eliminated from the tournament, speculation surrounding Ronaldo’s future at international level increased.

Wright believes that with the way Ronaldo performed throughout the tournament, his compatriot Diogo Jota would be disappointed not to have had enough opportunities to get time on the pitch.

“Portugal should be very disappointed with this [going out of EURO 2024] simply because of the quality of your team – when you look at them from defense to attack. The way he [Cristiano Ronaldo] played at EURO 2024, as good as he was, certainly Diogo Jota must be disappointed that he wasn’t able to get on the pitch,” said Wright on Sky Sports’ Stick to Football: The Overlap Special, quoted by Goal.com.

“What I saw of him [Cristiano Ronaldo], he can’t cut at this level now. As good as he is, as fit as he is, as motivated as he is, you can see he just can’t get up to shoot, the movement with a header, he can’t get it past a defender now,” he added. .

Ronaldo’s teammate during his time at Manchester United, Roy Keane, believes the experienced striker should take a break from international football and assess his situation when the 2026 World Cup approaches.

“He [Cristiano Ronaldo] should take a break and step away from international football, and if he’s still playing club football then take a look at the World Cup when it arrives. We look at [Harry] Kane, when Kane is out of control and your main goalscorers are not in it, you are playing with ten men. When you’re playing at the highest level, you really can’t carry anyone. From him [Cristiano Ronaldo] the movement is still there – against France, brilliant,” Keane noted.