World Cup: Ronaldo Not Helping Portugal Attack – Agbonlahor Claims

Former Aston Villa captain, Gabriel Agbonlahor, has urged Portugal manager, Roberto Martinez, to consider dropping Cristiano Ronaldo from his starting line-up ahead of their next World Cup fixture against Uzbekistan.

Agbonlahor said the Portugal captain was no longer at his best and should not be allowed to remain on the pitch when he is struggling to influence games.

Naija News reports that the former England forward made the remarks on talkSPORT while reacting to criticism of Ronaldo’s performance against DR Congo earlier in the week.

Agbonlahor said Portugal have enough attacking options to start matches without relying on the Al-Nassr forward.

“I don’t think he should [start]. I look at Portugal, I look at the players that they’ve got, I look at other strikers that maybe they could have played in front of Ronaldo,” Agbonlahor said.

He argued that even if Martinez decides to start Ronaldo, the 41-year-old should be substituted early when the game is not going in his favour.

“But when it isn’t going well, take him off. That is the only problem I have with it. If you are going to start him and it’s not working, 55-60 minutes off,” he added.

‘Ronaldo Is Past His Best’

Agbonlahor further claimed that Ronaldo’s current style of play was not helping Portugal’s attack.

According to him, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star was dropping too deep and failing to hold the ball up effectively.

“It’s not working. He’s not holding the ball up. He’s coming too deep and trying to play a number 10,” he said.

“CR7, for whatever people think, he’s past his best. End of story.”

Agbonlahor suggested that Ronaldo’s status and reputation may be influencing decisions around his role in the Portuguese team.

He said the forward’s long-standing rivalry with Argentina captain Lionel Messi could also be driving his desire to continue leading Portugal at the highest level.

“But it’s ego, isn’t it? Cristiano Ronaldo, you could say, is bigger than Portugal. Well, he is,” Agbonlahor said.

“Messi, his biggest rival this generation, has won the World Cup. Messi scored a hat-trick in his first game. Ronaldo’s thinking, I can do that.”

Ronaldo, Portugal’s all-time leading scorer, is expected to remain a major talking point as Martinez’s side continues their World Cup campaign.