Cristiano Ronaldo’s failure, in numbers

Cristiano Ronaldo has largely informed the choice of Portugal. It seems only a miracle that the Portuguese can continue as captain and international after the performance shown in Euro 2024 in Germanywhere he made clear the reason for his departure from Europe, and that was the time that was defeating everything.

Hearing that CR7 has finished a tournament of this magnitude without scoring a single goal should be the clearest symptom. This had never happened to him in any World Cup or European Championship, in fact, he was left without the record he was chasing by scoring six in a row, something no one had ever done. But his poor performance was more than just not scoring, we saw a Cristiano without spark, without resources and with a Robert Martinez with great confidence in the captain. He did not lack minutes, he started in all the rivalries and the only one in which he did not last until the end was against Georgia, whose classification was in his pocket and in an eleven full of substitutes except to himself and Palhinha.

One can understand following this pattern with Cristiano Ronaldo in the past, but not this one. He finished as the player with the most shots in the Euro Cup until the quarterfinals, but also because of his desperation, as he scored as much as he could in pursuit of the record. He was not even able to score in the penalty Al-Nasr in regulation time, although he had the nerve to do so with two penalty goals, which did not count towards his record. A total of 30 attempts between fouls and shots in and out of the area was once devastating, but not anymore.

However, what certainly resonates with the majority is that Cristiano Ronaldo is no longer a threat to Europe’s great defenses is that, despite playing so many minutes, He has yet to receive a foul per game (0.6). A footballer long ago could only be stopped in this way. And the same goes for duels, he’s only won 39%, such as dribbling, with a success rate of 43% on less than one attempt per game.

Against France This is the definitive evidence. CR7 He faced the best defense of this Euro Cup and looked like a doll in the hands of Upamecano and Saliba, which greatly surpasses Portuguese legend. He finished only one shot and in extra time, he only handled the ball 40 times in 120 minutes, participation was very low, and he won 4 of the 11 duels in which he participated.. Only Chief Muanifrom France, is the starting player holding the fewest balls in the tie.

The ball is in his court, although it seems difficult for him to give up Portugal because of his competitive desire. It looks like that Cristiano Ronaldo He has earned the right to do it whenever he wants, because he is the all-time top scorer not only for his country, but compared to any team. What you should do is get used to having a different role. Although that decision also depends on Roberto Martínez, who at this moment continues to show blind faith in him.