Ronaldo Under Fire: “He Should Retire, Portugal Won’t Win Because of Him”

Cristiano Ronaldo | Photo: Reuters

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Ronaldo Under Fire: “He Should Retire, Portugal Won’t Win Because of Him”

Shoham Maranah, 10 minutes ago

Portugal beat Nigeria 2-1 in its final warm-up match, but all eyes were on the team’s biggest star, who delivered a dreadful performance with a series of shocking misses. Social media users did not hold back in their harsh criticism of the phenomenon: “He is damaging his own legacy, just retire.”

World Cup 2026

Portugal completed its preparations for the World Cup last night (Wednesday) with a 2-1 win over Nigeria. Despite the positive result, the figure who grabbed most of the headlines, and not for the right reasons, was captain and undisputed star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo against Nigeria | Photo: Reuters

Ronaldo, who received extensive credit from the coach and played more minutes than any other starting outfield player, was substituted in the 65th minute after a concerning display. The star produced a nightmare performance, including several huge misses in front of goal, chances Ronaldo would previously have buried with his eyes closed.

Even during the match, social media was buzzing. Videos of Ronaldo missing one-on-one chances against the Nigerian goalkeeper went viral within minutes, and the reactions from fans, some of whom seemed more disappointed than ever, were not long in coming. “Forget football before football forgets you,” one user wrote, while others added in pain: “He is simply damaging his legacy,” “He should retire.”

Ronaldo first half misses 😭😭😭😭😭 All these in just one half 😭 pic.twitter.com/3dOXPniK1k, Otiga (@Otti129) June 10, 2026

The criticism did not stop there. Some fans are already identifying the star as the weak link that will prevent the team from winning the title in the upcoming tournament: “He will be the reason Portugal won’t win the World Cup,” read one comment that received hundreds of likes. “Age has already caught up with him.”

Now, as he is set to make his historic sixth World Cup appearance, a huge question mark hangs over CR7. Will the man regarded by many as the greatest player in history be able to rise above his biological age, silence the critics and lead Portugal to a first, historic World Cup title? Or will this World Cup be remembered as the biggest mistake of his illustrious career? The answers will come very soon on the pitch in America.

Group draw

Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic Group B: Canada, Bosnia, Qatar, Switzerland Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Turkey Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan Group K: Portugal, Congo, Uzbekistan, Colombia Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama

Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic Group B: Canada, Bosnia, Qatar, Switzerland Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Turkey Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan Group K: Portugal, Congo, Uzbekistan, Colombia Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama

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