Portugal boss Martinez hits back at questions over starting Ronaldo | OneFootball

Roberto Martinez has backed Cristiano Ronaldo to continue to start for Portugal at the Euros.

Ronaldo, 39, started in Portugal’s opening game win over Czechia and is playing in his sixth European Championship for his country.

And Martinez, when questioned on whether starting Ronaldo is right for the team because of his age and the fact he plays in Saudi Arabia, hit back at the suggestion that he would be better as an option from the bench.

“Can I ask you something? Do you know how many minutes Cristiano played last season?” he said.

“You answer your own question.

“I think when you’re talking about atmosphere, it is experience, it’s how you handle big occasions. I don’t think there is another player in world football who has had six European Championships.

“What’s important is to understand what a player brings. For us, Cristiano bring experience, he brings the knowhow, he brings the goalscoring, opportunities, the movement in the box, the opportunity to open space.

“If you want to analyse the stats of his physical (state), you just need to look at what he’s done in the past 12 months.

“Cristiano is in the national team of Portugal because he deserves to be. He scored 51 goals in 50 games and all the physical stats just back that he can play every four days.

“I think you can get your own knowledge there.”

Click to comment