Leboeuf: 'Portugal will only win the Euro if Ronaldo is eliminated'

According to former Chelsea and France player Frank Leboeuf, Cristiano Ronaldo will be a barrier for Portugal at Euro 2024.

"For me, Portugal is one of the candidates for the Euro championship this summer. I really think they can win, but only if Ronaldo doesn't play," Leboeuf said on BetVictor on April 4 . 3.

The 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 champion also said he felt uncomfortable when he heard Ronaldo say that the Saudi Pro League was better than Ligue 1 . He asked why the Portuguese striker chose Ligue 1 for comparison, instead of the Portuguese championship, and answered that it could only be because Lionel Messi used to play in Ligue 1.

"I have a lot of respect for Ronaldo as a player, but come on, that's enough," Leboeuf added.

Ronaldo won Euro 2016 in France with Portugal. Photo: Reuters

Ronaldo is currently the top scorer at club level (747 goals) and national team (128 goals). He also holds the record of scoring 450 goals for Real Madrid, owning five Golden Balls - the largest individual title for players, second only to Lionel Messi (8). At the team level, he won Euro 2016, after defeating host France 1-0 in the final. However, in the next tournament, he and his teammates were eliminated by Belgium in the 1/8 round.

At the age of 39, Ronaldo shows no signs of stopping, and will likely join Portugal at Euro 2024 in Germany.

Since the beginning of 2023, Ronaldo has moved to play in Saudi Arabia. According to Leboeuf, this is not related to the desire to conquer, but is a sign that the former Real and Man Utd striker is at the end of his career.

However, he acknowledged that Ronaldo has the right to play in Asia, just like Messi moved to America, and respected both of their choices about leaving top football. "You can never take away what they did for football. The competition between those two really made football better and more attractive. Thank you Ronaldo, thank you Messi. Enjoy Enjoy your retirement," the famous player born in 1968 added.

Before joining Al Nassr and enjoying an income of about 200 million USD per year, Ronaldo had five Champions League, three Premier League, two La Liga and two Serie A. In 2022, he contacted clubs Played in the Champions League but failed, before being terminated by Man Utd for indiscipline.

Messi also left Europe to play for Inter Miami from July 2023. The 36-year-old Argentine striker said he wants to enjoy football after winning all the major titles: World Cup, Olympic gold medal, U20 World Cup, eight Golden Balls, four Champions League, 10 La Liga and two Ligue 1.