CRISTIANO RONALDO, 37
Striker, Portugal Club: Manchester United (Eng)
Like Messi, he exited in the Round of 16 in Russia. Like him, again, he is the team’s talisman, a multiple Ballon d’Or winner, and possibly in his last World Cup. That’s where the similarities end. Having missed part of the preseasons, Cristiano Ronaldo has struggled to make the first team at Manchester United – he has played 531 club minutes less than Messi going to Doha – and has been barred from training with them for showing poor attitude. He has also wanted to leave the club but found no takers, and given an explosive interview last week in which he’s attacked his manager and club owners.
But Ronaldo is the planet’s most successful goalscorer in international football with 117 strikes in 191 games since making his debut for Portugal in 2003 at the age of 18. He is 37, but has tremendous work ethic and hates missing games. He would want to add a World Cup to the 2016 Euro title and the 2019 Nations League, but there are big question marks over Portugal’s personnel and attitude to go that far.
Clubbed with Uruguay, South Korea and Ghana, Portugal could run into Brazil in the final 8 if they don’t top the group. And given that it was Uruguay who sent them home from Russia, it could take some doing.
Coach Fernando Santos has been criticised for not being able to get Portugal’s attacking talent perform to potential. “You can have the best players in the competition, but if you don’t know how to make the most of the strengths of each player, then you won’t be able to operate properly as a team. People will see you as just another ordinary team,” Ruben Dias, the Manchester City defender, has said.
Such comments tend to stick more after Round of 16 exits in the World Cup and European championships and failure to make the Nations League finals last September. But if Ronaldo can channel his frustration into showing what he is capable of – look no further than the game against Spain in 2018 when he got a hat-trick in a 3-3 draw – they could go far.