At the height of Ronaldo’s rivalry with Lionel Messi, choosing the Argentinian felt almost unpatriotic.
Family lunches descended into chaos when the subject came up and two uncles had opposing views.
Few athletes have done more to project the image of their country and Ronaldo has the merit of having done so since the early stages of the social media boom.
But that legacy is beginning to suffer.
On-Field Decline
It is hard to understand why Martínez continues to start Ronaldo and, even more puzzlingly, leaves him on for the full 90 minutes.
Against the DRC, he touched the ball 25 times, the lowest number of anyone who played the entire game for Portugal.
He neither threatened the opposition goal nor disrupted the DRC’s defensive structure in any meaningful way.
The DRC midfielder Ngal’ayel Mukau in effect said as much after the match: “We know that he isn’t the same as before.
He is a little bit older now. But still, he is one of the greatest to play the game.
We have much respect for him.”
Can you imagine an opponent saying that about Ronaldo in 2016? Today, it reflects a reality that the vast majority of people can plainly see.
Portugal have one of the best squads in the world, with players such as Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes and João Neves.
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They do not need Ronaldo to start any more.
So, who is responsible? Ronaldo is among the least culpable.
