A former Real Madrid forward has launched a scathing attack on Cristiano Ronaldo, suggesting the 39-year-old striker is too selfish.
Ronaldo became the first player in the history of the sport to reach 900 goals earlier this month when he scored for Portugal against Croatia.
The Portuguese star has been hailed as one of the most effective goalscorers in the history of the game by many, continuing his exploits in front of goal into his late 30s.
However, Antonio Cassano does not share the same view and while speaking on the Viva El Futbol podcast, the Italian bizarrely criticised Ronaldo despite his landmark achievement.
‘Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t know how to play football,’ said Cassano. ‘He could score 3000 goals, I don’t give a f***.
‘Higuain, Aguero, Benzema, Lewandowski, Ibrahimovic and Suarez 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.’
This is not the first time that Cassano has taken issue with ‘CR7’. Speaking back in 2022, the former Los Blancos striker went as far as to say it was time for Ronaldo to hang up his boots, while he was playing for Manchester United.
‘A guy like Cristiano has to think about himself and if you can’t do it anymore then you have to call it a day,’ Cassano said. ‘It’s a rule in all sports. Retire, that’s enough!
‘He has won everything, he has been a phenomenon, he has earned a lot of money and now he is not a starter at Manchester United.’
Cassano took his own advice in 2017, calling it quits after 18 years in the sport which saw him play in Spain and Italy.
The now 42-year-old started his career at Italian side Bari before making a name for himself during a five-year spell at Roma in Serie A.
His exploits at ‘I Giallorossi’ earned him his big move to Real Madrid, but he only netted four goals in 29 appearances across two years in the Spanish capital before being shipped back permanently to his homeland.
Compare that to Ronaldo who netted at a rate of more than a goal a game in the white of Madrid, scoring 450 goals in 438 games.
Cassano and Ronaldo never crossed paths at Los Blancos, with the former Italy international leaving on loan to Sampdoria in 2007, before a permanent move a year later, while the now Al-Nassr striker arrived at the Spanish giants in 2009.
