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Former Liverpool midfielder Patrick Berger has said that Portugal's chances of winning the European Championships this summer will increase if they use Cristiano Ronaldo from the bench.
It's pertinent to note that Ronaldo, 39, is Portugal and international men's football's all-time top scorer with 128 goals. He played a key role in their successful UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, bagging 10 goals and two assists in nine games.
The 2016 Euro winner has been a regular starter under Roberto Martinez, who assumed charge after the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where Ronaldo played both knockout games from the bench.
Even though that didn't end well for Portugal, Berger reckons it could do so at the upcoming European championships in Germany this summer. He told BoyleSports (via GOAL) that Cristiano Ronaldo, because of his age, could have a greater impact off the bench, elaborating:
“His age is still a factor, even if he is one of the very best footballers of all time. But, he is 39. I actually thought that he shouldn't have been starting at the World Cup just over 18 months ago. I thought he would have been better off coming from the bench for the last 20 or 25 minutes.
"He will always create chances. It doesn't matter if it is in 90 minutes or the last 25. It would have been better for the whole team in Qatar, but with his ego and stuff like that, it makes it hard to drop him. If he starts against the Czech Republic at Euro 2024, I would be happy.
He concluded:
"I think they have such a great team Portugal and can win the entire tournament, even without Ronaldo in the starting XI. They have a much bigger chance if he doesn't play every single game from the start. If he's on the bench, I would be more concerned. I think if they had done that in Qatar, they could have got as far as the final.”
Portugal open their Euro 2024 campaign against the Czech Republic on June 18. Turkey and Georgia are the other teams in their group.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo chasing more history at Euro 2024
Cristiano Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the best players to have graced the beautiful game.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner holds a plethora of records in the European Championship. He's the top scorer in Euro qualifying, with 41 goals in 44 games, and is also the top scorer in the finals, with 14 goals in 25 outings.
At the upcoming Championships, the Al-Nassr captain will look to become the first player to appear in six (straight) editions of the competition and also to score in as many editions.
For context, 22 players have appeared in four European Championships, consecutive or otherwise, while no one has scored in more than three different editions of the competition.
