Micah Richards says it’s unfair for people who criticize Cristiano Ronaldo to judge him in the Lionel Messi debate.
Micah Richards has defended Cristiano Ronaldo after Portugal’s exit from the World Cup, saying there seems to be an “agenda” against the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star. Ronaldo’s dream of winning football’s biggest prize ended in Dallas when Portugal got knocked out.
In a tense match, Mikel Merino came on late and scored a stoppage-time winner, sending Spain through to the quarter-finals to face Belgium on Friday (July 10). Portugal, however, has now been knocked out by Spain in the knockout rounds of every major tournament, and this was Ronaldo’s final World Cup game.
After the match, Ronaldo, 41, confirmed this was his last World Cup. “I’m sad to leave like this, but I’ve always given my best,” he said. “I leave with a clear conscience. That’s football — sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. You have to keep going. It was my last World Cup, but there will be time to think and spend with my family. I won’t make decisions too quickly.”
Ronaldo finished his World Cup career with 11 goals over six tournaments, scoring mostly in the group stages, with just one knockout goal against Croatia last week. This year, he scored three goals but some fans criticized his performance, especially in the Spain match where he only touched the ball 19 times.
On The Rest Is Football podcast, former England player Micah Richards stood up for Ronaldo’s efforts. “I don’t like the way people are slandering Ronaldo,” Richards said. “He’s one of the greatest ever, and from the start, it feels like people are against him. Sure, he’s not running around like a young player anymore, but he’s still performing at the highest level and scoring goals. It feels unfair how people talk about Ronaldo compared to Messi.
“Whether you’re a fan of Ronaldo or Messi, we know Messi isn’t running as much as he did a few years ago, but he still brings magic to the team when he gets the ball. Ronaldo hasn’t been sprinting for a while either, but his movement inside the box is still amazing.”
Alan Shearer agreed, saying: “It’s tough to criticize a legend like him. His records are unbelievable.”