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Former Sporting CP manager Manuel Jose has accused Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo of being selfish and greedy for money.
Ronaldo saw his influence in the Portuguese national team diminish during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Then-Selecao head coach Fernando Santos notably left the forward on the bench for the team's knockout games.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has now been reinstated into the starting XI by new coach Roberto Martinez. He marked the start of the Spaniard's tenure by bagging braces in Portugal's recent UEFA Euro 2024 qualifers against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.
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However, Jose reckons Martinez should make Cristiano Ronaldo realize his decreasing quality. The former Sporting manager also claimed that the Al-Nassr superstar has forgotten his roots. He told Record (via One Football):
"The coach has to have character and personality to make him realize some things: first his age, then that he's representing a country and wearing the shirt of a country and the value it has, and then he has to give examples of humility.
"It's impressive, but Cristiano has forgotten his origins."
Jose took further aim at Ronaldo by saying that he is greedy. The Portuguese tactician added that he agrees with Bruno Fernandes refuting the forward's 'fresh air' claim about the national team, saying:
"He doesn't know how to finish his career. It's money and more money. 'Fresh air' would be if they took Ronaldo out of the national team. He behaved badly with Fernando Santos, with his colleagues and with the Portuguese.
"He has a dollar sign in each eye, and Bruno Fernandes just told the truth and put him in his place."
The 76-year-old went on to criticize Cristiano Ronaldo for his ego, saying:
"Ronaldo will go down in history as the greatest or one of the greatest scorers in world football. No one takes that away from you. Now he has an ego the size of the world and he only thinks about himself.
"On the field, it's him, then him and then him again. He only thinks about himself and no one else. He still hasn't been able to understand how old he is, that he is playing in a peripheral league and that he is no longer the Ronaldo of old times."
Although Jose suggested that Ronaldo should retire from international football, the 38-year-old has shown no signs of doing so yet.
Cristiano Ronaldo delighted with start to life under Roberto Martinez
Cristiano Ronaldo returned to action with Portugal in style, scoring four goals across their two games during this month's international break. Taking to Twitter after the win against Luxembourg, he expressed his delight at the start Selecao have made under Roberto Martinez, writing:
“2 games, 2 wins! Objective accomplished. Happy to have contributed to this very positive start of our selection. Let's go!”
The former Real Madrid superstar will hope to continue his goalscoring form when Portugal return to action against Bosnia and Herzegovina in June.
