Following Portugal’s elimination from the World Cup in Dallas, former England international Micah Richards has launched a passionate defence of Cristiano Ronaldo, claiming there is an “agenda” against the legendary forward. Richards also highlighted what he perceives as a hypocritical double standard in how Ronaldo is judged compared to Lionel Messi.
Portugal’s journey in the tournament ended in the round of 16, falling to Spain after Mikel Merino scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner. Merino, who replaced Dani Olmo in the 85th minute, sealed the victory for Spain, who will now face Belgium on Friday, July 10, in the quarter-finals. The defeat marked the third time Portugal has been eliminated by Spain in the knockout stages of a major tournament.
Richards addresses “slander” and “hypocrisy”
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Richards expressed his frustration with the criticism directed at Ronaldo. “I don’t like this Ronaldo slander. I don’t like it at all,” Richards stated, as reported by SPORTbible. “I agree he’s one of the greatest players ever to play and from the start of the tournament, it seems as though there’s an agenda against him.”
Richards further elaborated on the perceived unfairness, drawing a direct comparison with Messi. “Of course he’s not going to be running around like a spring chicken but for him to be at the World Cup and apply himself at this level and score at the World Cup yeah the stats are not great but, I feel as though it’s very hypocritical the way people talk about Ronaldo and Messi,” he explained. “Whether you like Ronaldo or whether you like Messi, we know Messi is not running around like he was doing two, three years ago. But we admire the genius that he brings to the team, the stats when he’s walking around, and when the ball comes to him, he comes alive. Ronaldo, we know, and he’s not been running for a while, but his movement in the box is still incredible.” Former England captain Alan Shearer echoed Richards’ sentiments, adding, “It’s very difficult to criticise a giant of the game, and what he has done, I mean, his records are like ridiculous.”
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Ronaldo’s final World Cup appearance
The match against Spain, where Ronaldo touched the ball just 19 times, proved to be his final World Cup appearance. At 41 years old, Ronaldo confirmed his retirement from the tournament stage post-match.
“I am sad to leave like this but I have given everything, always given my best. I go with a clear conscience,” Ronaldo said in a post-match interview. “This is football, it is the life of a footballer. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. You have to carry on.” He added, “It was my last World Cup, but as far as the rest of it is concerned: there will be time to think, to be with my family, [I will] not make decisions in the heat of the moment.”
Ronaldo concludes his World Cup career with 11 goals across six tournaments. While he scored three goals in this year’s competition, ten of his World Cup goals came in the group stage, with his only knockout stage goal recorded against Croatia last week.
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