Former Portugal international Ricardo Costa has defended Cristiano Ronaldo’s position in the national team while taking a thinly veiled dig at Lionel Messi.
Speaking to Portuguese publication O Jogo, Costa dismissed claims that former Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez made a mistake by playing Ronaldo for longer periods at the Seleção’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign.
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Costa instead stated that Ronaldo remains “an extremely important player” for Portugal, arguing that debate around the 41-year-old’s role in the team surfaced only because of Portugal’s early exit from the World Cup.
“I think we should acknowledge Cristiano Ronaldo’s merit for continuing to compete at the highest level,” he said. “The coach made the decisions he considered most appropriate for the team. If Portugal had progressed to the final, these choices probably wouldn’t be so widely discussed. Since the result wasn’t what we wanted, criticism is normal. Therefore, we should respect those decisions.
Ricardo Costa, who is currently the head coach of Portuguese side Tondela, believes the criticism aimed at Cristiano Ronaldo was unwarranted, drawing parallels with Lionel Messi. He noted that Messi had an underwhelming performance against Spain in the World Cup final but claimed the Argentine was not criticised for it.
“Cristiano continues to be an extremely important player; he had good moments and scored goals. Messi didn’t show up in the final against Spain either, and nobody talks much about that…” he added.
During the 39-day tournament, critics argued that Ronaldo was too old to lead Portugal’s attack, urging him to step down to allow younger players to thrive. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid superstar started all of Portugal’s five matches in North America but failed to make the expected impact.
His dream of winning his first World Cup was cut short in the round of 16 after a 1-0 defeat to Spain.
How did Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi fare at the 2026 World Cup?
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi made history at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as they became the first players to feature in six different editions of the tournament. The two players, however, experienced contrasting campaigns at the quadrennial event.
For Ronaldo, it was not the swansong he would have wanted on the global stage. The Al-Nassr forward scored just three goals, two of which came against minnows Uzbekistan. However, he ended his drought of failing to score in the knockout stages of the World Cup by scoring from the spot in the round of 32 against Croatia.
Lionel Messi, although he fell short in the final, had a memorable campaign in North America. It was a tournament in which he set and broke records, with the 39-year-old scoring eight goals in what was likely his last appearance on football’s biggest stage.
The Inter Miami star also took his World Cup goal tally to 21, just one behind Kylian Mbappe, who is the tournament’s all-time leading scorer.
Edited by Ezekiel Olamide
