Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has stated that Cristiano Ronaldo is no more managers favourite after the drop in form of the Portuguese star.
Ronaldo’s contract at Manchester United was terminated on a mutual agreement after the former Juventus star fired shot at figures at the club including the owners Glazer family.
The Portugal captain fell out of favour in the World cup after he was substituted in the game against South Korea.
Ronaldo was dropped for both the Round of 16 win over Switzerland and the quarter-final defeat to Morocco to all-but end his hopes of ever lifting the World Cup.
The 37-year-old is now on the lookout for a new club but it appears that there is little interest from any of Europe’s leading sides.
Carragher has given his thoughts on Ronaldo’s next move and admits the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has become a problematic figure for managers.
Speaking on Steven Bartlett’s Diary Of A CEO podcast, Carragher said: “Ronaldo hasn’t changed, he’s always been that sort of character, everyone’s known that – but he was worth the hassle.
“And that’s like everything in football, when we talk about a manager making a decision, can you put up with that?
“You don’t cut off your nose to spite your face, but when it gets to that stage where you’re thinking ‘this is becoming more of a problem,’ when a manager looks at you as a player, every manager wants the same thing: high performance, low maintenance. That’s it.
“When it starts getting weighted to the high maintenance and the scales are more tilted towards high maintenance, it’s time to go.”
Ronaldo has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr in a deal worth around £175million-a-year.
Regardless of whether Ronaldo makes the money-spinning switch to the Middle East, Carragher has admiration for Ronaldo’s drive to be among the greatest players of all time.
He remarked: “I’m no huge Ronaldo fan, I think that’s pretty obvious and that’s not for his footballing ability, [but] I’ve actually got so much admiration for his mental strength. I think it’s unbelievable.
“I think [he’s] probably one of the strongest players mentally, because he’s had that thing his whole career, for how good he is, he’s still had [Lionel] Messi on his shoulder.
“He could never almost sit back and say ‘I’m the best’ and relax, he’s always had this constant ‘yeah but you’re not as good as Messi’.
“I know it splits people, but I would say the majority of people would probably side with Messi, I think that they do.
“And I think to always have that thing of trying to prove people wrong, and I’ve got that but on a completely different level, it’s almost like he feels he’s not ready to leave.
“Everyone says he’s one of the best players of all time and I can’t help but admire that drive, because I’ve got that drive – just not that ability that he’s got!”
