Cristiano Ronaldo 'tough to manage' as Gary Lineker reveals Wayne Rooney insight on Portugal star
Cristiano Ronaldo has failed to score for Portugal at Euro 2024 this summer
REUTERS
Gary Lineker believes Cristiano Ronaldo is 'tough to manage' with the Portugal star still waiting for his first Euro 2024 goal.
And the BBC presenter has also revealed insight from Wayne Rooney on his former Manchester United team-mate, with the pair previously spending five years together at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo is one of the best footballers of all time, having flourished throughout his career.
His powers seem to be waning at the age of 39, however, with the Al-Nassr star failing to score in the group stages.
Cristiano Ronaldo has failed to score for Portugal at Euro 2024 this summer
REUTERS
Ronaldo was frustrated on Wednesday night as Portugal slumped to a shock 2-0 defeat to Georgia.
He received a yellow card for dissent after being refused a penalty, having been bundled down inside the box.
Lineker believes Ronaldo, who also threw a strop as he was substituted, is 'tough to manage'.
And the 63-year-old also claims Rooney told him he was a player that would refuse to be dropped, regardless of the opponents.
“He was the only player that played the other two games that played in the last game," he told the Rest is Football podcast.
"And you know why? We were talking about Wayne Rooney because we did the game before.
“So we were looking ahead to the Portugal game because we had Jose Fonte with us.
"And we were saying, you know, Ronaldo is playing. Wow, why would you play him?
“He's like, he's getting on a bit now. Save your energy for the knockout stages.
"And Wayne went, there's no way he wouldn't play because he obviously wants to get [a goal], he hasn't scored in the first two games.
“And he wants his goals. And he was like, it's like the whole game, he was angry. He was angry at the referees.
“He was angry at his teammates for not getting to the balls properly sometimes. And then when he went off, he kind of kicked something in disgust.
“He must be quite tough to manage because I think he was right to take him off.
“I mean, he got a yellow card as well in the game.
"So I mean, it would have been mad if he got himself another book in it, which would have meant a red in that game and then missed the next one.”
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Cristiano Ronaldo played alongside Wayne Rooney for five years at Manchester United
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Alan Shearer then chipped in and said: “I don't think it matters what he does. He's playing.
“If he wants to play, then he plays, doesn't he?”
And Lineker then expressed a belief that Ronaldo deserved to play on merit, with the 39-year-old still a constant threat in the box.
“Yeah. Oh yeah. No, he'll play. And of course he'll play. He should play," he continued.
“I still think he's moving. He's so sharp in the box. I watch him, he's brilliant at the way he moves and he goes one way, spots in the other.
Cristiano Ronaldo has cut a frustrated figure for Portugal at Euro 2024 so far this summer
REUTERS
“And little dashes, obviously he can't do too much. He's not going to chase anyone down nowadays at his age, but his movement around the box, it's not happened for him yet though.
"He's missed, you can see the frustration.”