Cristiano Ronaldo has been advised to “do himself a favour” and retire, with Antonio Cassano telling the Manchester United star he has reached the end.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is now 37 years of age and failed to secure himself a transfer away from Old Trafford during the summer window despite pushing for a move and being linked with clubs from Spain, Germany and Saudi Arabia. Ronaldo is now struggling for starts at United, while also coming in for criticism at international level with Portugal, and Cassano believes the time has come for an all-time great to call it a day.
The former Real Madrid and Italy forward has 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.”
