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Former Croatian captain and AC Milan star Zvonimir Boban has blamed Cristiano Ronaldo and his attitude for Portugal’s early exit in this year’s World Cup.
Ronaldo was awarded with the FIFA Ballon d’Or is recent months mostly for his outstanding play in the all-white of Real Madrid.
But when it came to lifting his country through to the next round of competition, the ex-Manchester United failed to inspire his countrymen, finishing behind Germany and USA in their group.
Meanwhile, the Croatian enjoyed quite an international career, making a name for himself during the budding of his country’s formation.
After making his international bow in Yugoslavia colours, Boban went onto captain the Croatian national team which finished runner-up in Euro ’96 and finished third in France ’98.
Portugal’s dismal show at the World Cup prompted the former great to have a crack at the Portuguese star and the dysfunctional performance of the national team in Brazil.
"Ronaldo is an amazing player and he showed that again in Brazil, even if he missed a number of chances. But his biggest flaw is the way he looks at himself and the team," Boban wrote in a column for a footballing site.
Winner of 4 Scudettis and a Champions League with AC Milan, Boban went on to say that the signs of danger for the Selecção das Quinas were quite apparent from the way Ronaldo celebrated on scoring in the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid last season.
"He celebrated like he was insane. That was the ultimate proof that he loves himself. The headlines should be about the team, not about Ronaldo," Boban wrote.
"The same thing happened with Portugal in Brazil. There was no order or discipline. All the Portugal players were playing their own game and more occupied with their hair and tattoos. It's Hollywood behaviour.
"It's almost as if the players wanted to show there's more to Portugal than Ronaldo. It's a sad thing that a team loses its identity because of an unbalanced captain, both for Ronaldo and for an entire generation."
