Former Watford striker Troy Deeney believes Cristiano Ronaldo could have helped Portugal if he had accepted a lesser role at the FIFA World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t able to make much of an impact for Portugal, as a last-minute goal from Mikel Merino allowed Spain to advance to the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
But Portugal looked far from impressive during the tournament, with Ronaldo’s presence in the starting line-up being a huge point of difference.
Troy Deeney says Cristiano Ronaldo’s refusal to come off the bench hurt Portugal at FIFA World Cup
Speaking on CBS’s Golazo post-game show, former Watford striker Troy Deeney admitted that Cristiano Ronaldo’s ego played a huge part in Portugal’s downfall.
Ronaldo, perhaps spurred on by Lionel Messi’s Argentina heroics, wanted to make a similar impact for Portugal, which led to Roberto Martinez starting him in games where he would have been better off coming off the bench.
“You say that, sit him down. Take him to one side. Time to be on the bench. Do you see what happened when you took him off in the last game? Did you see the faces he was pulling?
“When great players come to the end, it’s always that they’re not as good as they once were. But we can’t take away how great he once was.
“The big part with this Ronaldo is that he has a massive ego, which you need. But you cannot say he has helped this team.
“Just in this World Cup alone. The manager having to take him out is a massive distraction. It’s a massive talking point if he is on the bench.
“Because Messi is doing so well with Argentina, all of the narrative around it. I think they were damned if they do and damned if they don’t. In this situation, Cristiano Ronaldo is to blame as well because he makes it so hard to drop him.”
Goncalo Ramos’ performances at 2022 and 2026 FIFA World Cup shows he would have been the better starter
The only game that Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t play 90 minutes in was their Round of 32 clash against Croatia. After scoring a penalty to give them the lead, Ronaldo was brought off for Goncalo Ramos.
In the end, Ramos’ cameo appearance proved vital, as he would score the winner for Portugal in the 90th minute.
This isn’t the first time Ramos has proven valuable for Portugal. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo was benched in favour of Ramos in their Round of 16 tie against Switzerland.
The move paid off brilliantly, as Ramos scored a hat-trick to help Portugal win 6-1 and advance to the quarter-finals against Morocco.
In the end, it isn’t unfair to suggest that Ramos would have been the better starter for Portugal over Ronaldo, who could have been an impactful substitute for the team.
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