Ronaldo’s Behavior Defended by Portugal Manager
While some have questioned quite how Ronaldo has the nerve to refuse to play for a side which pays him more than $700,000 per day Portugal national team manager Roberto Martínez has been quick to leap to his player’s defense.
The international coach was asked by BBC Sport what it was like managing a character with the ego and global renown of Ronaldo. “Very easy,” Martínez smiled, “because of his high standards, his expectations of how the work should be done and his commitment to the game. He truly is an example of what you should do to represent Portugal and the national team.
“And now he’s adapted, obviously, after 21 years in the national team—he’s adjusted. He’s a goalscorer, he’s an important player for us, and it’s the player that he is now that is important for me. As a national team coach, a player that has scored 25 goals in the last 30 international games... it’s not that he’s playing because of what he’s done in the past, it’s what he’s done now.”
Ronaldo turned 41 in February and will become the second-oldest outfield player in men’s World Cup history should he be picked for this summer’s tournament. There is little doubt in Martínez’s mind that his increasingly immobile center forward is up to the task.
“We got all the stats,” the manager insisted. “If you were going to analyse a player that is dropping at physical level, that’s not the case. His physical stats are of a player that could go on and on and on. I think it’s more a question of when he’ll feel that is the right time. I think he’s a player that is very critical with himself. When he doesn’t see that he can help the team, he’ll be the one that will decide when to stop.”
As Al Nassr found out, Ronaldo decides when he stops and when he starts again.