Didi Hamann called Cristiano Ronaldo ’embarrassing’ after he cried on the pitch following his missed penalty against Slovenia.
Ronaldo’s penalty in extra time was cleverly saved by Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak, keeping the score at 0-0.
The 39-year-old striker was seen in tears during half-time and extra time as his teammates comforted him after his miss.
Portugal eventually won 3-0 on penalties, with Diogo Costa saving all three of the Slovenians’ penalties, with Ronaldo converting his effort and subsequently apologising to the fans.
Former Liverpool and Germany midfielder Hamann called Ronaldo’s reaction “embarrassing” on Irish TV channel RTE and claimed the forward only thinks of himself.
Cristiano Ronaldo was in tears after missing a penalty in extra time against Slovenia
Didi Hamann criticized Ronaldo as an embarrassment and claimed he only thinks about himself
Ronaldo saw his penalty kick superbly saved by Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak
“A 39-year-old plays 120 minutes, misses a penalty and I have to say I believed that ‘Ronaldo has become a team player because he needs the team more than before’. I believed that nonsense too, but I think he showed his true colours again tonight,” Hamann said.
‘Miss the penalty, he starts crying on the pitch, he starts crying at half-time in extra time. And I think “it’s all about you”.
‘There is a squad of 26 players, 20 staff members and 30,000 to 40,000 fans. It’s not about you.
‘You try to be mutual, but I encouraged Slovenia because I found the reaction embarrassing, I thought it was not right.
‘I’ve never seen anything like this. Because once you show emotion, once you get emotional, it’s over.’
‘That was the moment when the manager had to say: “You have to stop because you are not in the right frame of mind to continue playing.”
‘It’s his compliments that he took the first penalty and he did well, it was a very good penalty, but as I said, I believed all those claims that ‘Ronaldo has become a team player’, that is complete nonsense.
He only thinks about himself.
“He scores the penalty and apologizes to the fans, he doesn’t have to apologize. He will start the next game, but I don’t see any other outcome than a victory for France.”
Ronaldo converted his penalty in the shoot-out, which ultimately saw Portugal beat Slovenia
The veteran striker raised his hands to apologise to supporters after scoring his second penalty
Ronaldo has yet to score at Euro 2024 and has now gone eight games without a tournament goal for Portugal.
The striker explained his emotional reaction to the missed penalty to Portuguese broadcaster RTP after the match, admitting that he had gone from ‘initial sadness’ to ‘final joy’.
‘It is without a doubt my last European Championship. But I don’t get emotional about that, I get emotional about everything that has to do with football,’ said Ronaldo.
‘Because of the enthusiasm I have for the game, the enthusiasm I feel when I see my supporters, my family and the affection people have for me.
“It’s not about me leaving football, because if I do, what else do I have to do or win? It’s not about getting one point more or one point less. Making people happy is what motivates me the most.
‘We now have a tough match against France, who are among the favourites to win.
“But we are going to fight, the team is doing well and I will always do my best in this shirt. I missed the penalty but I wanted to score first because you have to take responsibility. I have never been afraid to face the usual things.”