Antonio Cassano’s Bold Statement: Does Cristiano Ronaldo Really Know How to Play Football? 2024 Updated
Antonio Cassano, former Real Madrid and Italy forward, delivered a biting indictment of Cristiano Ronaldo in a recent podcast, saying that the Portuguese superstar values goal scoring more than collaboration.
Cassano, who gave up football in 2017, stressed that although Ronaldo is praised for his remarkable scoring record, he is not a good team player.
Antonio Cassano, a former attacker for Real Madrid and Italy, has criticized Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo may score as many goals as he likes, but Cassano, who retired in 2017, claimed that Ronaldo “doesn’t know how to play football”. Between 2006 and 2008, Cassano had a brief career as a player for Real Madrid; he left the team a year before Ronaldo broke all transfer records by joining from Manchester United.
After scoring 450 goals in just 458 games over nine seasons in the Spanish capital, Ronaldo went on to become the club’s all-time top scorer. His 900th goal for club and nation was recently scored by the 39-year-old. On the Viva El Futbol podcast, Cassano stated, “Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t know how to play football.”
According to Cassano, he thinks players who are better at forming connections with teammates—like Sergio Aguero, Robert Lewandowski, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Suarez, and Karim Benzema, Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid teammate—are superior to him.
I could care less if he scores three thousand goals. Luis Suarez, Robert Lewandowski, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, and Karim Benzema were adept at collaborating with the team. Unlike Ronaldo, who has always had scoring as his sole goal, they were multi-talented, he remarked.
Ronaldo aids Al-Nassr in their successful debut under the new manager
Ronaldo scored the opening goal in Al-Nassr’s 3-0 victory over Ettifaq to help the team get off to a strong start under new coach Stefano Pioli. After missing Al-Nassr’s 1-1 tie against Al-Shorta of Iraq on Monday in the AFC Champions League Elite due to a viral ailment, Ronaldo scored his third goal of the season after 33 minutes, scoring from the penalty spot.
Anderson Talisca and Salem Al-Najdi increased the score in the second half. Ettifaq suffered its first loss of the season, but Steven Gerrard’s squad maintained third place. Moving up to fourth was Al-Nassr.
