World Cup winner accused of 'disrespecting' Cristiano Ronaldo by former Man Utd teammate

A former Manchester United star has accused a World Cup winner of 'disrespecting' Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo is undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time, having won pretty much everything there is to win while representing some of the biggest clubs on the planet.

The Portuguese superstar has five Ballons d'Or to his name, although if it wasn't for Lionel Messi he would have won more.

However, despite everything that he has achieved during his stellar career, over the last couple of years public opinion in some quarters has started to shift against him.

In an era of high-pressing football where all players are expected to contribute in all areas of the pitch, Ronaldo has been criticised for his lack of work off the ball.

This was clear during his second season after returning to Manchester United, when he failed to effectively press opponents as Erik ten Hag instructed.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, weeks after his United contract was terminated, Ronaldo was dropped from Portugal's starting line-up after three underwhelming performances. The team looked better for it.

Some have argued that Portugal boss Roberto Martinez must bench Ronaldo if his side are to have any chance of winning Euro 2024 in Germany this summer, but former United striker Louis Saha doesn't agree.

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While speaking to OLBG, Saha hit out at former United and France defender Frank Leboeuf for disrespecting Ronaldo with such claims.

"I heard Frank Leboeuf say that Portugal can't win with Cristiano Ronaldo," Saha said.

"I think it's disrespectful. Yes you can have your say and say and yes it’s possible that Portugal are not going to win with or without him, but saying he can’t win the competition at all is very harsh.

"If you can mention his attitude and understand that he’s got a lot of personality and won’t be happy if he’s on the bench, I understand that, but he’s disrespecting the talent of Ronaldo and his capacity of helping his team-mates improve. That’s just not fair."

Ronaldo is Portugal's all-time leading goal-scorer with 128 goals in 206 games.

Portugal will face Czechia, Turkey and Georgia in Group F at Euro 2024.