Al-Nassr superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is “totally” Champions League level, even at 38 years of age, says Portugal boss Roberto Martinez.
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All-time great showing no sign of slowing downHit over 50 goals for club & country in 2023Evergreen forward intends to play on into his 40sWHAT HAPPENED?
The all-time great, who has five Ballon d’Or wins to his name, has been showing no sign of slowing down since leaving elite European football for a new adventure in Saudi Arabia. He plundered over 50 goals for club and country in 2023, with the evergreen frontman still the poster boy for longevity at the very highest level.
AdvertisementGettyWHAT MARTINEZ SAID ABOUT RONALDO
Martinez, who now works with Ronaldo in international football, has told when asked if CR7 – who remains the competition’s all-time leading goalscorer – could still cut it in the Champions League: “Totally. He’s incredible with his capacity to really reinvent himself. This is not the player we saw in the first spell at Manchester United, he’s not a wide player. Now he’s a finisher, someone that understands quality of movement in the box, and is an incredible threat. And experienced.”
Martinez added on what makes Ronaldo different from just about every other player on the planet: “Cristiano, first and foremost, is happy. What shocked me was how fresh he is with his approach in football: someone of 38 comes to training and wants to win every exercise, win every race and is the last one leaving.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Ronaldo is also a role model to the next generation, with Martinez saying of how a player with over 200 international caps to his name is helping to ensure that stars of tomorrow follow in his illustrious footsteps: “He always tries to give young players a lot of help. Nobody can help a young player better than a team-mate that’s got more than 200 games for the national team. I think the young players are in awe of Cristiano but when they start working with him it’s respect and then it’s just very competitive. The generation of Cristiano and Pepe, 40, set the standards of how the work should be should be done for a young player. It’s gold.”
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO?
Ronaldo remains tied to a contract at Al-Nassr through to 2025 – and will soon be lining up against eternal rival Lionel Messi in a glamour friendly clash with Inter Miami – while he has stated a desire to play on through to the 2026 World Cup finals and into his 40s.