Cristiano Ronaldo has been Portugal’s main man for nearly two decades but the veteran forward is a long way from peak performance before Friday’s Euro 2024 quarter-final showdown with France. Now 39 years old and playing his club football in Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo is showing his age in what must surely be his last major international tournament.
Ronaldo’s goalscoring prowess has been the hallmark of an incredible career in which for years he vied with Lionel Messi for the crown of the world’s best player. But he has failed to score a single goal in Germany and has not really looked like doing so in a series of displays that have added little to his country’s attacking output.
Coach Roberto Martinez has started Ronaldo in all four of Portugal’s matches in which he has set up a goal for Bruno Fernandes and done little else. Ronaldo even put Portugal’s chances of qualifying for the last eight in jeopardy when he missed a penalty against Slovenia on Monday as the match finished goalless and went to a shootout. Martinez said Ronaldo “paved the way” for Portugal’s eventual victory which set up Friday’s match with Les Bleus by smashing in the first spot-kick.