Former United striker Saha believes that Ronaldo needs to be protected from his own competitive nature if Portugal are to succeed in North America. Following a frustrating 1-1 draw against DR CongoSaha argued that the 41-year-old’s desire to match the output of younger stars is becoming a hurdle for manager Roberto Martinez.
Speaking via CasinolyzeSaha explained: “Cristiano Ronaldo needs to be saved from himself, because Cristiano is always going to be in competition with (Erling) Haaland, (Kylian) Mbappe, and (Lionel) Messi. He wants to play every minute to break records, that’s his mentality and we understand that. But I think he also understands that Portugal needs a high tempo. They want to press and have the energy level at the very top, that will involve making changes.
“Sometimes he has provided a solution for that. His fitness seems to be high, he has worked really hard for those moments and I trust him to react the right way. But he will find that during some games, it will feel hard for him.”
