Cristiano Ronaldo may need to eat humble pie after his performance against DR Congo, according to his former Manchester United team-mate
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal walks off the pitch after the 1-1 draw with DR Congo
Cristiano Ronaldo had a nightmare start to his World Cup 2026 campaign with Portugal(Image: 2026 Getty Images)
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Ex-Manchester United star-turned-billionaire Louis Saha admitted that Cristiano Ronaldo must accept being benched at times to give Portugal a better chance of winning. The 41-year-old was a shell of his former self in their World Cup 2026 opener against DR Congo, which they drew 1-1 on Wednesday.
Ronaldo went scoreless for the 10th consecutive game in major tournaments and came under scrutiny from Thierry Henry, who claimed the Portugal icon placed more importance on scoring than on putting his team first.
Henry was joined by his compatriot in Saha in questioning Ronaldo's constant on-pitch presence, with the former United striker claiming the 41-year-old must sacrifice himself for the betterment of his team.
Saha, 47, has racked up £4.3billion since retiring from football through his sports company AxisStars, which he co-founded with marketing expert Kate Hamer. Speaking to Casinolyze, the ex-France international said: "Cristiano Ronaldo needs to be saved from himself, because Cristiano is always going to be in competition with Haaland, Mbappe, and Messi.
"He wants to play every minute to break records, that's his mentality and we understand that. But I think he also understands that Portugal needs a high tempo. They want to press and have the energy level at the very top, that will involve making changes. Sometimes he has provided a solution for that.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with Louis Saha
Cristiano Ronaldo and Louis Saha were Manchester United team-mates for four years(Image: Getty Images)
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"His fitness seems to be high, he has worked really hard for those moments and I trust him to react the right way. But he will find that during some games, it will feel hard for him. Obviously, momentum of games is key.
"Even a younger version like Kylian Mbappé found that the first half was really poor and he wasn't good physically. He was making wrong choices, but in the second half the talent was there. That's basically what Cristiano can do.
"The focus on him is hard for the manager. Sometimes he will have to answer unnecessary questions and sometimes you will have to bench Cristiano to allow him to go all the way in this competition."
Cristiano Ronaldo lies on the pitch
The 41-year-old has scored just eight goals across six World Cup tournaments (Image: ©Icon Sportswire All Rights Reserved)
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Saha and Ronaldo were team-mates for four years at Old Trafford before the Frenchman departed in 2008 to join Everton. He later played for Tottenham, Sunderland and Lazio before calling time on his career in 2013.
The retired striker's venture into business alongside Hamer keeps him in sports circles with a blurb on their website that says: "Since hanging up his boots, Louis has moved into the world of business where he has used his experience to develop propositions to support athletes and other people in the public eye, in their careers."