Wayne Rooney and Quaresma take aim at Portugal's star midfield as shocking Ronaldo disconnect revealed

Slated as the best midfield in the world, Portugal's golden trio of Bruno Fernandes, Joao Neves, and Vitinha have been criticised by pundits and ex-pros as they failed to feed Cristiano Ronaldo and crashed out of the World Cup.

Prior to the tournament, all eyes were on Cristiano Ronaldo to see how the 41-year-old striker would fare with such a great midfield behind him.

With a 1-0 defeat to Spain, Portugal's Round of 16 exit was confirmed, a long way from their lofty trophy ambitions, leaving Ronaldo to break his fans' hearts with a sobbing international retirement.

"It's true, this was my last World Cup," he said before the game, confirming the news leaked by his sister earlier in the tournament.

"There will be time to think about everything else, to be with my family, and I want to not make decisions when I'm heated. Life goes on."

After the game, he added, "I have won three titles for Portugal. Before Cristiano, Portugal had not won a single title in history. I won Euro 2016, which for me is like winning a World Cup. I leave with a clear conscience and having given my best for Portugal."

The Portuguese icon did manage to end a 20-year wait to break his goalscoring duck in a World Cup knockout stage, but stats released after the Spain game revealed that he was lucky to do so after being so short on supply.

Portugal midfield slammed after chance creation stats show huge Ronaldo disconnect

With one of the greatest goalscorers of all time leading the line, stats released after Portugal's exit showcased that Joao Neves and Vitinha failed to create a single chance all tournament long.

Together with Bruno Fernandes, the trio didn't register a single assist, as the European heavyweights registered eight goals in the World Cup before bowing out.

Speaking on the BBC coverage, Wayne Rooney took aim at Bruno Fernandes especially, claiming that he snubbed opportunities to play the ball into the box for Ronaldo on multiple occasions, failing to play to his strengths.

"If you are playing with Cristiano Ronaldo, you have to use him," Rooney implored.

"The ball could have been put in the box here, from Bruno Fernandes. But they refuse to put it in.

"If you play him, you have to use him! At set pieces, he is still a massive threat for Portugal!

"Don't play him the ball 30 yards from the goal, that's not his strength anymore. Get it to him into the penalty area where he is still effective."

A similar sentiment was delivered by Portuguese icon Quaresma, who sat on a podcast interview with Ruben Dias after the game and gave a very candid recollection of the tournament.

"In midfield, we have great players, lots of talent, but they were very, very weak at this World Cup. The attack was the same, and the defense was lost.

"Roberto Martinez never inspired any confidence in me. We need to play this game with much greater enjoyment. We exited the tournament with the national team that everyone called 'the best squad in history'."

Earlier assessments from Thierry Henry singled out Ronaldo as a problem, but it's clear to see that it's a two-way street, as the football legend ends his international career with bitter sadness.