In the latest episode of the “Viva El Futbol” podcast, former Italian and Real Madrid forward Antonio Cassano are explicitly against Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo. Cassano, a Real Madrid player from 2006 to 2008, has stated that the main goal Cristiano Ronaldo has pursued all along through his career is not delivering for the team but scoring.

Cassano’s Criticism

He did not hold back his utterances, declaring, “Cristiano Ronaldo does not know how to play football.” This might sound aggressive, considering that he had just confessed the striker has some amazing goals-scoring prowess. Ronaldo has  netted over 900 club and country objectives—for which he pays in the coin of team play. He is still a one-man band. Naturally, other legendary players had their own share of shine and glory in teamwork, but Ronaldo was a different case.

As noted by Cassano, other players—Sergio Aguero, Robert Lewandowski, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Suarez, and Karim Benzema—were better due to their ability to connect with their teammates. “He could score 3000 goals; I don’t give a f**k; he could score 3000 times; I don’t care,” Cassano said. “They 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.”

Performance of Cristiano Ronaldo at Present

While such criticism from Cassano was scathing, Ronaldo has since proved that the match-winning qualities that have always been a part of him on the field are every bit as much a part of his profile these days as ever. Indeed, Ronaldo was in mesmerizing form last week at Al-Nassr, newly managed by Stefano Pioli.  when he played a crucial role in winning Riyadh club with aplomb 3-0 at Ettifaq. That was his third goal of the season, and while his style of the game is up for questioning, it can never be doubted in front of goal.

Real Madrid’s becoming the club with the highest-scoring player ever is part of a record feat held by Ronaldo, while the player had scored 450 goals in 458 appearances and secured a place among history’s great footballers.

Conclusion

Statements from Antonio Cassano have opened the floodgates of debate. This includes the character of Cristiano Ronaldo’s play and how this impacts team dynamics. This sits against an unmatched goal-scoring record. Such debate fires the passions of fans and former players.