Cristiano Ronaldo is currently going through a difficult phase in Saudi Arabia. Indeed, his club, Al-Nasr, is in grave danger of enjoying a white season after being eliminated by Al-Wehda in the semi-finals of the King’s Cup. In January, the five-time Ballon d’Or team had already been knocked out in the semi-finals of the Saudi Super Cup.
Things are not going better in the league: 3 points from the start with another match, the fate of victory is no longer in his hands a few days after the end. Poor team performance which also goes through poor individual performance, including some of Ronaldo’s.
Fortunately for him, Roberto Martinez, who moved from the Belgium coach’s seat to that of Portugal, knows how to win back the confidence of his player. During an interview with Portuguese media Antena 1, Martinez confided in Cristiano Ronaldo’s situation: “He plays in a key position, he is a striker who can make a difference, he has unique experience. No other player in the world has 198 caps and that is very important for us.”
But in addition to his athletic qualities, Martinez particularly appreciates Ronaldo’s human presence, because he believes he is “A very important player and person in the dressing roomAnd as to whether the striker will still have a place in the Portuguese squad for June and subsequent deadlines, the Spaniard leaves the door open: “Football always decides. It’s a footballing decision linked to his performance. I make difficult and important decisions for the team, but football always makes the decisions. I think Cristiano played a very positive and important role in the matches we played in March.“
Here’s the Portuguese beware: it seems Roberto Martinez has no intention of changing his way of doing things. He intends to call on experienced players, as he did with Belgium, sometimes at the expense of youngsters. To the joy of Cristiano Ronaldo
