Cristiano Ronaldo Isn’t the Problem — Portugal Are

Cristiano Ronaldo is under fire after Portugal’s draw with DR Congo, but the bigger problem is how Portugal treat the legend who built their status.

Cristiano Ronaldo is not Portugal’s liability; he is the reason Portugal get judged like a superpower in the first place.

That is the part people want to skip now because it is easier to count touches against DR Congo than count what he has carried for 20 years. Portugal drew 1-1. Ronaldo had a quiet game. Fine. 

Nobody is pretending he played like 2008 Manchester United Ronaldo with jet engines in his boots.

But football has become too quick to bury old kings because a new midfielder learned how to speak in mixed zones.

Cristiano Ronaldo has 143 Portugal goals. He has over 228 caps. He has played in six World Cups. 

He led Portugal through an era where the country stopped being a nice technical side and became a main event. 

Before this generation of Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Vitinha and Joao Neves started getting treated like title favourites, Ronaldo was dragging Portugal into every major conversation with goals, ego and pure refusal.

When a country has eaten from a man’s fire for 20 years, you do not start complaining about smoke after one draw.

🇵🇹🗣️ João Neves:

"We know what Cristiano has done for us, for our national team, and for the world of football.

But at this moment, he and we know that he is no different.

He is just another player here to help.

He is no different from the others.

He is here to contribute,…

— The Nassr Tribune™️ (@AlNassrTribune) June 18, 2026

Yes, Joao Neves scored against DR Congo. Lovely header. Big moment. 

But a 21-year-old reducing Ronaldo to “another player” is not the flex some people think it is. 

You can say the team comes first without sounding like you are doing HR for a five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Respect does not mean worship. It means knowing who built the road you are now walking on.

Bruno Fernandes needs to hear this too. If Ronaldo blocks your run, demand the next ball. Shout. Clap. Lead. 

Do not give us that Man United theatre of shoulders, sighs and face-palms. Portugal need leaders, not facial expressions in 4K.

And Thierry Henry? 

He had a point on the movement. 

Ronaldo probably should have dragged the defender and opened the lane for Bruno. But Henry also knows how elite strikers think. 

The same hunger that makes them selfish in one moment is the same hunger that wins you knockout games when everyone else starts hiding behind safe passes.

Thierry Henry was COOKING Cristiano Ronaldo for his performance against Congo:

“The team needs to score, not YOU need to score..."” 😭💀 pic.twitter.com/jQbwXdjSjC

— Hater Report (@HaterReport) June 17, 2026

This is where Roberto Martinez has to stop playing half-and-half football. 

If Cristiano Ronaldo starts, build the attack properly. 

Do not play like he is Rafael Leão running into channels. 

Do not ask him to press like a 24-year-old forward then complain when he looks 41. 

Get runners around him. Stretch the pitch. Feed the box. Let him finish.

If Ronaldo starts, Portugal’s job is simple: run for him.

The other side has a fair argument. Ronaldo is older. He no longer carries transition attacks. His pressing is limited. 

Against DR Congo, Portugal had one shot on target and Ronaldo had none. That is ugly. You cannot dress it up with nostalgia and museum lighting.

But calling him the problem after a match where the whole team created almost nothing is lazy analysis. 

The midfield had 75% possession and still served stale bread. The wide players did not stretch DR Congo enough. 

The tempo dropped after the early goal. If the orchestra sounds bad, do not blame only the oldest violin.

Argentina did not dump Lionel Messi after Saudi Arabia shocked them in 2022. 

They adjusted. They protected their genius, ran around him, and made the whole thing work. 

France did not ask Zidane to become a water carrier because younger legs existed. 

Great teams do not shrink legends to make the dressing room feel modern.

Portugal do not have a Ronaldo problem. 

They have a respect problem wearing a tactics costume.

Ronaldo deserves to start because Portugal still need his gravity, his finishing, his fear factor and his nerve. 

But if Martinez starts him, the team must commit to it. No sulking. No half-service. No pretending he is the issue while everyone else hides inside tidy possession.

Cristiano Ronaldo gave Portugal his youth. The least this generation can give him is running legs, proper service and some public respect.

Be honest — if Portugal win this World Cup, who do you really think will be standing in the middle of the story?