- Ronaldo is the only player in football history to have scored 900 goals
- Former Real Madrid star believes Ronaldo’s ‘only goal’ is to score
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A former Real Madrid striker has launched a scathing attack on Cristiano Ronaldo, claiming the 39-year-old striker is too selfish.
Ronaldo became the first player in the sport’s history to reach the 900-goal mark earlier this month when he scored for Portugal against Croatia.
The Portuguese star is regarded by many as one of the most effective goalscorers in football history, having continued to score goals well into his thirties.
Antonio Cassano, however, does not share this opinion. During an interview with the podcast Viva El Futbol, the Italian bizarrely criticized Ronaldo, despite his historic achievement.
“Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t know how to play football,” Cassano said. “He can score 3,000 goals, I don’t give a damn.”
Antonio Cassano attacked Cristiano’s mentality during a speech on the podcast Viva El Futbol
Ronaldo scored his 900th career goal this month, making history for Portugal against Croatia
‘Higuain, Agüero, Benzema, Lewandowski, Ibrahimovic and Suarez knew how to fit into the team.
‘They knew a lot, unlike Ronaldo, who always just wanted to score.’
This isn’t the first time Cassano has criticised ‘CR7’. In 2022, the former Los Blancos striker even said it was time for Ronaldo to hang up his boots while he was still playing for Manchester United.
“A guy like Cristiano has to think about himself and when you can’t do it anymore, you have to stop,” Cassano said. “That’s a rule in all sports. Retire, that’s enough!
‘He’s won everything, he’s a phenomenon, he’s earned a lot of money and now he’s no longer a regular at Manchester United.’
Cassano followed his own advice in 2017 and retired after 18 years in the sport, during which he played in Spain and Italy among other countries.
The now 42-year-old player began his career at Italian club Bari and then made his name during a five-year spell with AS Roma in Serie A.
Cassano scored just four goals in a two-year spell at Real Madrid between 2006 and 2008
Meanwhile, Ronaldo scored more than one goal per game in Madrid, reaching 450 goals
His performances with ‘I Giallorossi’ earned him his big transfer to Real Madrid, but he scored just four goals in 29 games in two years in the Spanish capital before returning to his homeland for good.
Compare that to Ronaldo, who averaged more than one goal per game in Madrid’s white, scoring a whopping 450 goals in 438 games.
Cassano and Ronaldo never crossed paths at Los Blancos. The former Italian international left for Sampdoria on loan in 2007, where he left permanently a year later. The current Al-Nassr striker left for the Spanish giants in 2009.