Ronaldo ‘the big flop’ as World Cup winner claims ex-Man Utd star ‘damaged’ Portugal with ‘ego trip’ | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo has been slammed after being “the big flop” at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as Portugal exited the competition in the quarter-finals.

Ronaldo has endured a pretty difficult few months as things have been going against him on the pitch.

The veteran missed much of pre-season and this left him down the pecking order at Man Utd under Erik ten Hag.

The Dutchman often preferred to use Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial up front in the first few months of the season.

He was right to do this as United arguably looked like a better team without Ronaldo involved as their younger players formed a more fluid and cohesive unit.

Ronaldo’s relationship with United over the past few months as he looked to secure himself a move away from the club.

He did not get his wish in the summer but he finally departed last month as his contract was mutually terminated.

This was finalised before the World Cup so Ronaldo was able to focus on performing well for Portugal in Qatar.

The 37-year-old was unable to make much of a difference for Portugal though. He only managed one goal at the tournament and that came via a penalty.

He even started Portugal’s two knockout ties on the bench following an apparent fallout with head coach Fernando Santos.

The European side exited the competition in the quarter-finals after losing 1-0 to Morocco and that will prove to be Ronaldo’s last game in the finals of the competition.

Now Lothar Matthaus – who won the World Cup with Germany in 1990 – has suggested that Ronaldo “has permanently damaged his monument”.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is of course the big flop of this World Cup, the opposite of Messi. He has damaged the team and himself with his ego trip,” Matthaus told Bild.

“He was once a great footballer, a world-class goalscorer. Now he has permanently damaged this monument. I can’t imagine him finding another club. Somehow I feel sorry for Ronaldo.”

Man Utd’s younger players will have to step up in the coming months with it being reported that they will not sign a permanent replacement in January.

Mikael Silvestre is hoping that Alejandro Garnacho will “get more game time” in the final few months of the 2022/23 campaign.

“It’s not going his (Jadon Sancho) way at the moment but I hope he will keep the belief because he has a lot of potential to do well at United,” Silvestre told bettingexpert.

“He did it at Dortmund so I can’t see why he can’t reach that level at United.

“It is problematic but we have a good squad. Elanga, Garnacho, Anthony, Martial, Rashford. We can cope and hopefully give him time to get back to his best.

He added: “I’m excited to see Garnacho getting more game time to see how he progresses. You always want to see new faces.

“Him and Marcus Rashford. I hope Rashford continues that journey of being positive, scoring goals and becoming more of a leader for the team.”