Antonio Cassano has leapt at the opportunity to criticise Cristiano Ronaldo following Juventus’ disappointing performance in their 2-1 loss away to Porto in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday night.
Federico Chiesa scored late to give Juve a lifeline after underwhelming all evening, and in doing so he became the first Juventus player to score a knockout round goal in the competition other than the Portuguese forward since his 2018 arrival.
“I’ve always said that Cristiano Ronaldo is a phenomenon,” Cassano said to Christian Vieri on Twitch. “He may have scored a billion goals, but he might have problems with Andrea Pirlo’s idea of the game.
“He’s always been selfish. He doesn’t care if others score, he only lives to score himself. He doesn’t live for football, he lives for his own goals, it’s clear.
“If you put Xavi [Hernandez], [Andres] Iniesta, [Luka] Modric or [Toni] Kroos behind him, he’ll score 50 goals. But the ideas are changing at Juventus and they have a new approach.
“Let’s be honest, he’s in trouble there. The years are passing for everyone, even for him.”
In 27 appearances this season, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 23 goals and provided three assists. In the Champions League, he has been involved in five goals in five games.
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