“He must end his career” — Antonio Cassano calls for Cristiano Ronaldo to retire in latest dig on Man Utd forward
Antonio Cassano has told Cristiano Ronaldo to “do himself a favour” and hang up his boots in his latest rant against the Manchester United star.
Ronaldo is now very much in the twilight years of his career at 37 and has struggled to make a significant impression for Man Utd this campaign, scoring just once in eight appearances, which came in the Europa League against Sheriff.
The Portuguese also fired a blank in the most recent international break for his nation, adding to his early-season concerns. His barren spell has come after he attempted to engineer a move away from Old Trafford in the summer, with Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal one of those in the mix.
Cristiano Ronaldo news: Should he “do himself a favour”?
- Italy legend Antonio Cassano has urged Cristiano Ronaldo to “do himself a favour” and retire (click here for full quotes).
- The 37-year-old has struggled to reach his lofty goalscoring heights this term, netting just one goal.
- Ronaldo has started just one Premier League game under Erik ten Hag and has an xG of less than one (0.75).
- Man Utd play Man City this weekend and Sky Bet are offering odds of 9/2 on Ederson making 4+ saves.
A transfer away from Man Utd ultimately failed to materialise and Ronaldo has made a concerning start to the new campaign. He is yet to open his Premier League account entering October and has seemingly fallen down the attacking pecking order under Erik ten Hag, starting just one top-flight game.
Given the current situation, Cassano — who has been no stranger to digging Ronaldo out in the past — has now implored the forward to pull the curtain down on his career.
He told the Muschio Selvaggio podcast: “At this point, Cristiano should love himself, do himself a favour and understand that, if he cannot reach a level, he must end his career. He has won everything, he has been a phenomenon. Now it’s time to retire.
“I have a lot of respect for CR7, but I don’t like him as a player. [Lionel] Messi is like [Diego] Maradona. He had to leave Argentina at the age of 14 and face serious physical problems, which speaks of sacrifices.”
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