Former German midfielder Dietmar Hamann has lashed out at Cristiano Ronaldo for being selfish. Ronaldo failed to find the back of the net in Euro 2024 and could only provide a single assist in the five matches he played in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Portugal was knocked out after a 5-3 loss on penalties against France in the quarter final clash. Young Joao Felix missed his chance from the spot-on. While other Portugal players came in to support Felix, Ronaldo went straight to the tunnel, which didn’t impress Hamann.
Furthermore, the former Liverpool midfielder questioned why Ronaldo played against Georgia in the group stage when Portugal had already qualified for the round of 16 game.
Speaking on RTE, the German said, “Everyone went over to Joao Felix but he didn’t bother – he went down the tunnel. I think Felix needed an arm around the shoulder from his captain but he instead went down the tunnel. I just don’t understand how – he has been playing the game for 22 years – he doesn’t understand the team dynamics.
“I think the way he behaved the whole competition – playing the last game against Georgia when they had already won the group and playing the most minutes out of all the outfield players when he wasn’t up to it anymore – was one of the most outrageous acts of selfishness I have ever seen in a team game.”
He added, “He has got hundreds of millions of followers and a lot of kids look up to him. I just want to say to these kids, that if you behave like this in society, work or in a team game then you won’t succeed. You will get problems. It shows he played an individual game in a team sport for the last 20 years. That shows how good he is but he could only do it because he was the best.
“He is going down as one of the all-time greats but when I look at his behaviour throughout the tournament I think he has let his team down. It was nothing short of pathetic.”
Ronaldo is currently enjoying a vacation with his family.
