Former Germany international Lothar Matthaus has labelled former Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo as the "big flop" of the World Cup.
The tournament in Qatar was Ronaldo's fifth and most likely final World Cup of the 37-year-old's footballing career. Having scored Portugal's opening goal of the competition from the penalty spot in a 3-2 win over Ghana, the wheels rapidly fell off for the former United man.
That strike was to be Ronaldo's only goal of the World Cup, with Portugal manager Fernando Santos dropping the five-time Ballon d'Or winner from his county's starting XI for their final two matches.
The veteran's long-term rival Lionel Messi experienced a drastically different campaign with Argentina, as the Paris Saint-Germain star led the South American nation to victory - scoring seven goals and providing three assists along the way. The former Barcelona star was only out-scored by Kylian Mbappe, with the Frenchman notching a hat-trick during Sunday's thrilling final.
Matthaus has now taken aim at Ronaldo for his disappointing tournament, with the 61-year-old former World Cup winner pointing to the stark difference between the former United man and Messi's performance in the Middle East.
Matthaus told German outlet BILD : “Cristiano Ronaldo is of course the big flop of this World Cup, the opposite of Messi. He has damaged the team and himself with his ego trip.
“He was once a great footballer, a world-class goalscorer. Now he has permanently damaged this monument. I can’t imagine him finding another club. Somehow I feel sorry for Ronaldo.”
READ NEXT:
