Cristiano Ronaldo has undoubtedly been one of the best players of the 21st century and his records speak for himself.

At 36, it is quite clear that his best days are beyond him but a certain Portuguese defender thinks otherwise.

Lille centre back Jose Fonte has claimed that “Ronaldo is still a beast” and has warned all European teams to expect nothing but greatness from the Juventus forward. Cristiano Ronaldo has been the best player alongside his dear rival Lionel Messi for over a decade now and his output still overshadows players who are in the prime.

While he is not scoring 40-50 goals every season anymore, he still managed to finish the Serie A season as the top scorer and won the “best attacker” award. He beat the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez and Luis Muriel to the award; players who are at their peak right now.

Moreover, Ronaldo isn’t blessed with the same world class teammates he had at Real Madrid. The current Juventus side is no longer brilliant and if not for Ronaldo’s 29 goals, they would have not made it to next season’s Champions League which goes to show how important he is even at this stage of his career.

One player who doesn’t understand why Cristiano Ronaldo is getting all the criticism is Jose Fonte. He was quick to suggest that Ronaldo is still their nation’s talisman and can still perform at a very high level.

The Portugal and Lille defender told talkSPORT: “He’s our leader, our captain. As usual he’s preparing in the best way. He’s one of the best professionals around. The numbers speak for themselves. He’s still going, he’s still a beast, so expect nothing else but greatness.”

On the prospect of facing England in the round of 16 if certain criteria are met, Jose Fonte said “It would be great. On a personal level, I’d love to play against England. I have fond memories from my time playing in the Premier League so what a great challenge it would be as England has a great squad as well.”