Former Nottingham Forest and Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane has said that Cristiano Ronaldo has had the same attitude for his entire career, amid recent criticism from pundits.
The 37-year-old appeared unhappy after being taken off the pitch in Portugal’s 2-1 defeat against South Korea last week, before starting the round of 16 clash against Switzerland on the bench. Portugal went on to win that game 6-1.
The latest talk around Ronaldo comes after his blockbuster interview with Piers Morgan, which led to an agreement with Man United to terminate his contract, meaning he won’t feature against Forest in the first Premier League game back on December 27. It leaves the forward on the lookout for a new club after the conclusion of the World Cup.
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Ronaldo has been criticised for his attitude in recent weeks by the likes of another former Man United man Gary Neville. But Keane has said that the attitude has always been the same, but just overlooked throughout the player’s career.
"Are footballers supposed to be perfect?" Keane told Sky Bet . " Cristiano Ronaldo had this attitude 10 years ago, but the following game he would score a hat trick, and he was 27 - everyone would forgive him.
“People say that he makes teams worse - Juventus haven’t done anything since he left them a couple of years ago."
The former Forest man also said that Portugal boss Fernando Santos made the correct decision in leaving Ronaldo out of the XI against Switzerland. It remains to be seen if he regains his place in the line up against Morocco on Saturday.
“Against Switzerland, the Portugal manager made a correct decision to replace Ronaldo with someone who offered more mobility up front,” Keane added. “He [Ramos] scores a hat trick, and everyone looks straight to Ronaldo. I always thought there could be a chance that Ronaldo wouldn’t start a World Cup knockout game for Portugal – he’s 37!"
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