The Juventus forward has been accused of taking his celebrations too far and rubbing up opponents the wrong way
Cristiano Ronaldo has been told that while he remains a “great champion” he can also be “annoying”, with Hungary boss Marco Rossi accusing the Portuguese superstar of taking goal celebrations too far.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has had plenty of practice when it comes to finding the back of the net, with efforts at Euro 2020 seeing him become the joint-leading international goalscorer of all-time in the men’s game.
Two of those strikes came in a 3-0 win over Hungary, with Rossi disappointed to see the 36-year-old toast a successful penalty as if he had just secured back-to-back European Championship crowns for his country.
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What has been said?
Rossi told Gazzetta dello Sport of a man that has plundered 109 international goals and a further 674 at club level: “Ronaldo is a great champion but at times he can be annoying.
“After the penalty with us he celebrated as if he had scored in the final. People notice these things.”
The bigger picture
Juventus star Ronaldo now sits level with Iran icon Ali Daei at the top of the international scoring charts and could add another record to his ever-growing collection when Portugal face Belgium in the last 16 of Euro 2020 on Sunday.
Hungary will not be figuring in the knockout stages of the competition, with the plucky underdogs narrowly missing out on qualification from the so-called ‘Group of Death’.
They lost to Portugal in their opening fixture, but then held France and Germany to notable draws and were heading through until the last six minutes of a meeting with Joachim Low’s side.
Rossi added on the efforts of his team to contain the likes of Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Kai Havertz: “I slept a maximum of 15 minutes last night and it’s weird. I would never have thought that a draw with Germany would leave me with this feeling.
“I know we were good but I’m sorry.”
The Italian, who has been in charge of Hungary since 2018, added on future plans after seeing his profile soar: “I don’t give a damn about revenge and I’m not interested in returning to Italy.
“I’m happy if I left a footprint in Hungarian football.”
Further reading
- Ronaldo & the top 20 international goalscorers of all-time
- What are Ronaldo’s diet, workout and fitness secrets?
- Cristiano Ronaldo Coca-Cola controversy explained
