Portuguese icon criticizes Cristiano Ronaldo, says he can't play
Antonio Cassano, a former attacker for Real Madrid and Italy, has criticized Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo may score as many goals as he likes, but Cassano, who retired in 2017, claimed that Ronaldo "doesn't know how to play football".
Between 2006 and 2008, Cassano had a brief career as a player for Real Madrid; he left the team a year before Ronaldo broke all transfer records by joining Manchester United.
Ronaldo went on to become the club's all-time leading scorer, finishing nine seasons in the Spanish capital with an incredible 450 goals in just 458 matches.
Recently, the 39-year-old scored his 900th goal for his team and nation. Cassano stated on the Viva El Futbol podcast that "Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't know how to play football."
According to Cassano, he thinks players who are better at forming connections with teammates—like Sergio Aguero, Robert Lewandowski, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Suarez, and Karim Benzema, Ronaldo's former Real Madrid teammate—are superior to him.
Ronaldo scored the opening goal in Al-Nassr's 3-0 victory over Ettifaq to help the team get off to a strong start under new coach Stefano Pioli. After missing Al-Nassr's 1-1 tie against Al-Shorta of Iraq on Monday in the AFC Champions League Elite due to a viral ailment, Ronaldo scored his third goal of the season after 33 minutes, scoring from the penalty spot.
