Lewandowski heaped massive praise on Ronaldo and said Poland must stand up together to stop Portugal, who have several individual talents in their side.
Poland and Barcelona superstar Robert Lewandowski has given a no-nonsense take on Cristiano Ronaldo’s behaviour on the field as he, the Portuguese legend, has often expressed his anger on the field in recent times.
Ronaldo joined Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr in December 2022 after his second stint with Manchester United ended on a wrong note. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner publically criticised club management and owners in an explosive interview with Piers Morgan. After that, Man Utd and Ronaldo mutually decided to part ways.
He then left Europe and shifted his base to Saudi Arabia, drawing considerable attention to the SPL. However, he has yet to win the league title and is often criticised for his on-field behaviour. Rival fans also taunted him with ‘Messi’ chants on several occasions.
However, Lewandowski, who is scoring goals day in and day out for Barcelona, has come in support of Ronaldo and said that his anger and nervousness on the field show his ambition and desire for the game.
“As for Cristiano, he has written many pages of history and has always raised the bar for everyone around him, and this is something that cannot be overlooked. Although he has achieved everything or almost everything, and he is 39 years old and approaching 40, it is clear that he has ambition, as he gets angry and nervous, and this shows his great ambition.”
“I think if he didn’t have that anger, he might have looked like he was just playing for the sake of playing. But he clearly still has the desire, and he looks physically in very good shape, which shows that the path he chose was successful,” Lewandowski said ahead of Poland’s UEFA Nations League match against Portugal.
The Poland striker called Ronaldo an exception as he continues to break goal-scoring records.
“Regardless of age, his numbers keep going up and not the other way around. Of course, he is an exception, and there are very few exceptions like him,” he added.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star recently scored his 900th goal and became the first player to achieve the feat in professional football.
Lewandowski heaped massive praise on Ronaldo and said Poland must stand up together to stop Portugal, who have several individual talents in their side.
“I fully understand what Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved throughout his career, and how he has impacted the history of football with his achievements and numbers. This will certainly remain engraved in history. But when it comes to the match, I see it as a match between two teams, and we will need to play as a team to stand up to Portugal. They have many great players who I have faced before, and I know very well the level of challenge we will face,” he added.
