Cristiano Ronaldo unwritten rule raised by ex-team-mate that could be affecting Portugal

Portugal may have been affected by an unwritten rule concerning Cristiano Ronaldo during their victory over Slovenia to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2024. Roberto Martinez’s side were taken to penalties after failing to score in 120 minutes, with Ronaldo wasting multiple chances to find the back of the net.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner failed to get on the end of around five teasing crosses, with his Portugal team-mates doing their best to get him a goal. He went on to miss several free-kicks, including one which he blazed wide from an angle more suited to crossing, as well as a penalty in extra time.

Ronaldo refused to step down from free-kick duty in spite of the fact he has only scored one of the 60 he has attempted at major international tournaments. Former Portugal defender Jose Fonte claimed on TV coverage that ‘nobody can take him off them’, suggesting it is effectively an unwritten rule that Ronaldo takes all free-kicks.

One particularly embarrassing moment for Ronaldo came when he attempted to shoot from a free-kick that was near the corner flag. Bernardo Silva looked set to cross it into the box before Ronaldo made it clear that he was going for goal, with his effort sailing harmlessly wide.

He went on to miss a crucial penalty in extra time, with Oblak guessing correctly to palm his tame effort away from danger. It prompted a tearful reaction from Ronaldo, who was consoled by his team-mates after failing to score in his seventh successive game for Portugal.

Ronaldo eventually found the back of the net in the penalty shoot-out as Slovenia missed all three of their spot-kicks to send Portugal through. However, it did not count as an official goal for Ronaldo, meaning he is still waiting to open his account at Euro 2024.

He was accused of letting his side down by former Liverpool ace Didi Hamann, who thought it was ’embarrassing’ that Ronaldo burst into tears after missing his penalty in extra time.

“All he thinks about is himself,” Hamann told RTE Sport. “I think he showed his true colours again. Missing the penalty, he starts crying on the pitch, he starts crying at half-time in extra-time. And I’m thinking: ‘It’s not all about you’.

“There’s a squad of 26 players. There’s 20 staff, there’s 30 or 40,000 fans in there. It’s not about you. You try to be mutual, but I was cheering Slovenia on because I thought the reaction was embarrassing, I thought it was out of order. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“Once you show emotions, once you get emotional, it’s the end of it, so that was the point where the manager had to say you’ve got to come off because you’re not in the right frame of mind to carry on playing. He will start the next game but I can’t see any other outcome than a France win.”