Fabio Capello blasts ‘ARROGANT’ Cristiano Ronaldo for being ‘cumbersome’ for Portugal at World Cup

Fabio Capello has branded Cristiano Ronaldo ‘arrogant’ while insisting the Portugal captain was ‘cumbersome’ for his country during the 2022 World Cup. 

Reflecting on the tournament in an interview with Italian news agency Corriere Della Sera, the former England boss also took aim at Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, labelling him ‘stupid’ after his lewd gesture in the final.  

It seems there were plenty of takeaways from Qatar for him, but speaking on Ronaldo’s less than fairytale tournament exit, Capello was largely unsympathetic. 

Fabio Capello says Cristiano Ronaldo (pictured) was ‘cumbersome’ for Portugal in World Cup 

Reflecting on the tournament, the Italian also branded the Portuguese superstar ‘arrogant’  

‘Ronaldo brought it onto himself and for what he’s done in his career, it’s a shame,’ Capello said on the 37-year-old’s disappointing exit at the World Cup. 

‘As a player, he can’t be questioned, but he was arrogant. He offered himself without finding any club that would believe in him; he’s become a bit cumbersome for a team.’ 

Morocco defeated Portugal 1-0 in the quarter-finals of of the World Cup, inflicting one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, with Ronaldo leaving the field in tears. 

It was likely Ronaldo’s final World Cup campaign after he was also exiled at Man United 

Capello also branded Emiliano Martinez’s lewd gesture at the World Cup final ‘stupid’

It’s been a difficult few months for Ronaldo, who was left out of Portugal’s starting line-up on several occasions by head coach Fernando Santos, having also been exiled by Man United after his explosive interview  with Piers Morgan. 

After the World Cup final, Argentina goalkeeper Martinez was awarded the golden glove award, and proceeded to pose in a crude gesture during the World Cup trophy presentation. 

While others, including Graham Souness have criticised his actions as ’embarrassing’ Capello concurred and claimed his actions were, ‘stupid’.

The Italian also reflected on Ronaldo’s old adversary, Lionel Messi, and claimed that even before their epic World Cup final win against France he thought the Argentina captain was on the same level as Pele and Diego Maradona.

‘To me, he was on the same level even before the World Cup,’ the Italian said. ‘Messi and Maradona did things that others couldn’t even imagine.’

Lionel Messi was instrumental during Argentina’s World Cup final win against France

Capello claimed that Messi ‘was already on the same level’ as Diego Maradonna and Pele

His teammate, Lautaro Martínez who has previously been linked with a move to the Premier League, also had an excellent tournament for Argentina, with Capello claiming he was a big fan of the Inter Milan centre-forward.

‘I like him, he is a complete striker. He was a bit slow in the final, but this also depends on Italian football being slower.’ 

Argentina defeated France 4-2 in the final of the tournament, with Les Bleus failing to become the third team in World Cup history to win back-to-back tournaments. 

Capello suggested that if Karim Benzema had been on the field France may have beaten Argentina, but claimed that Didier Deschamps was not wrong to leave him out of the side. 

‘No,’ he said when asked if Deshcamps should have brought the Ballon d’Or winner back. ‘I did the same with [Dejan] Savicevic before the Intercontinental Cup Final in 1993.

He also claimed Didier Deschamps (right) was correct not to recall Karim Benzema for France

Capello also said that Theo Hernandez ‘played with the handbrake on’ during the final

‘On the morning of the game, he told me that he was ready to play after I had prepared everything with Raducioiu. Out of respect, I didn’t let him play. I thought it was a fair decision for the team. But the question remains: would Milan and France have won one more trophy with Savicevic and Benzema? Perhaps, yes.’

Speaking on France, he also claimed their defender Theo Hernandez was too cautious during the World Cup final when having to cover for Mbappe pressing forward. 

‘He [Hernandez] played with the handbrake on because he had Mbappe in front of him and didn’t want his water to be occupied by other fishes. He was the only one allowed to swim there.’