Former Real Madrid player Antonio Cassano has beg to differ from claims that Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best footballers in the world.
The former AC Milan, Inter, and Roma attacking midfielder, who called time on his career
in 2018, believes Cristiano Ronaldo is overrated.
Speaking in a recent interview on Viva El Futbol Podcast, Cassano gave reasons for his downbeat assessment of Cristiano Ronaldo.
According to him, the Portuguese could be a great goalscorer but he is not a ball-playing footballer. He added that some of his (Ronaldo’s) rival forwards are better footballers than the Portuguese.
“Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t know how to play football. He could score 3,000 goals, I don’t give a f***. Other strikers knew how to link up with the team.
“They knew how to do a lot of things, unlike Ronaldo whose only objective has always been to score.”
Cassano played for Real Madrid between 2006 and 2008. He netted four goals in 28 games for Madrid, while Ronaldo bagged 450 goals in 438 games.
Meanwhile, it is not the first time he has spoken critically about the Al-Nassr ace. In 2022, he called the forward to hang up his boots as he was out of favour at Man United.
“A guy like Cristiano has to think about himself, and if you can’t do it anymore, then you have to call it a day,” he said.
Cassano himself retired in 2018 following a year without a club, ending his career with 139 goals in club football and 10 goals for Italy.
He won La Liga and the Serie A as well as two Italian Super Cups, while he also turned out for Bari, Sampdoria, Parma and Hellas Verona throughout his career.
Is Cristiano Ronaldo overrated?
Cassano’s claims may not sit well with football fans with utmost reverence for what Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved in football. But can it be said that the Portuguese superstar is overrated and what does the statistics say?
Cristiano Ronaldo laid the bricks and blocks to his giant soccer career right from his early days at Sporting Lisbon in 2002. He made 23 senior appearances for the club, scoring 3 goals. It was a humble start for the legendary footballer, but a move to Manchester United in the Premier League saw the footballer rise to fame in the sport.
His double spell with Manchester United saw him score 103 goals with 39 assists in 239 Premier League performances. He won all domestic English trophies, including the UEFA Champions League.
Best career chapter with Real Madrid in La Liga
Notably, Ronaldo rose to global soccer stardom at Manchester United but he reached bigger milestones following a move to Real Madrid in La Liga in 2008. He won all domestic titles, including multiple Champions League trophies with the club. Ronaldo left Real Madrid as the club’s all-time highest scorer with 450 goals, comprising 311 La Liga goals in 298 appearances. Also, he recorded 95 La Liga assists.
His third and final stop in Europe was in Serie A with Juventus. At Juventus, the Portuguese also won all domestic trophies, scoring 81 Serie A goals with 17 assists. Currently plying his trade with Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, the Real Madrid legend is not slowing down even at the ripe age of 39. He has scored 52 league goals in 51 appearances for the club with 17 assists.
On the international scene, he has 132 goals in 234 appearances for Portugal national team. His notable personal achievements include winning the Ballon d’Or five times, emerging UEFA Champions League all-time top scorer with 148 goals, being the first footballer to reach 900th career goals, Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Saudi Pro League Golden Boot and Best Player Awards, and several other honours.
From the foregoing, Cassano’s claims can prudently be dismissed as a shallow assessment of Ronaldo. While the former Italy international is entitled to his opinion, it is evident he has not done justice to Cristiano Ronaldo’s giant strides in the sport.
Both on goal-scoring and ball-playing abilities, the Portuguese has proven beyond doubt he is one of the best, if not the best, the game has ever known.
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