Paul Scholes Critiques Ronaldo's Role for Portugal
Paul Scholes believes Cristiano Ronaldo has become “a problem” for Portugal and insists it is “not right” that the 41-year-old is still leading the line for his country.
Ronaldo, who has now matched Lionel Messi by appearing at six World Cups, captained Portugal in their opening group game against DR Congo in Houston on Wednesday. On a night when Roberto Martinez’s side were tipped to flex their muscles as one of the tournament favourites, their biggest star barely laid a glove on the game.
A quiet night for Portugal’s captain
Portugal started as if they meant business. Joao Neves struck in the sixth minute, an early goal that should have set the tone for a comfortable evening for the 2025 Nations League winners, a side bracketed with France, Spain, England and reigning world champions Argentina as serious contenders.
They dominated the ball. They controlled territory. They did almost everything but finish the job.
Then came the sting. Against the run of play, Newcastle forward Yoane Wissa pounced just before half-time to level for DR Congo. From there, Portugal never rediscovered their edge in the final third and had to settle for a draw that felt like a missed opportunity as much as a warning.
In the middle of it all, Ronaldo drifted. He did not create a chance. He did not take a shot. He did not complete a successful dribble or win a single duel in a flat, almost anonymous first half. The numbers painted the picture: this was not the ruthless force who once bent games to his will.
Yet Martinez refused to take him off. While Pedro Neto, Vitinha, Bernardo Silva, Tomas Araujo and Nuno Mendes all made way, Ronaldo stayed on until the final whistle, a fixed point in a team struggling to find a cutting edge.
Scholes: “For me, he has to be a player for the last 15 minutes”
Watching from afar, Scholes saw a manager trapped by the weight of a legend.
“I believe it’s challenging for the manager,” the former England and Manchester United midfielder said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast. “I once had a conversation with Roberto Martinez off-camera during a Stick to Football session, where I inquired, ‘Is he a problem for you?’, as I feel he is somewhat of a concern.”
Scholes did not dance around the issue. Age, he argued, is now the defining factor.
“At 41 years of age… I believe there is only one position on the field where a player of that age should be starting, and that is as a goalkeeper, in my opinion.
“Now look, he is going to score goals and he’s in a team that have a lot of possession, but once there’s a game where it has to be transition… and there will be games like that. His movement at 41 years of age…”
Scholes knows Ronaldo as well as most. They shared a dressing room for six years at Old Trafford, watched the Portuguese forward transform from raw winger into Ballon d’Or-winning phenomenon. That history does not soften his view of what Ronaldo should be now.
He “feels sorry” for Martinez, who must juggle the demands of the present with the aura of a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, and he is adamant the solution lies in changing Ronaldo’s role.
“The trouble with Portugal is they haven’t really got an outstanding centre-forward anyway, have they? You’ve got to have somebody who runs,” Scholes said.
“For me, he has to be a player for the last 15 minutes. For a 40 or 41-year-old to be playing centre-forward, I just don’t get it.
“You might get away with it at centre-half, you might do in a team that keeps the ball and you probably get away with it as a goalkeeper, but as a centre-forward at 41… it’s not right.”
The Modric warning and the Messi shadow
Scholes pointed to another great of the modern era as a cautionary tale. Croatia’s Luka Modric, 40, is still orchestrating games from central midfield, but even he, Scholes argued, shows the strain.
“We saw it with Croatia and Luka Modric last night at 40 years old. Central midfield at 40…”
The implication was clear: if it looks hard for Modric in the engine room, how can a 41-year-old centre-forward thrive in a side that needs intensity, pressing and constant movement?
Then there is the competitive fire that has driven Ronaldo throughout his career. Scholes believes that, too, is raging in the background.
“Cristiano will be so pissed off because Lionel Messi got a hat-trick, Kylian Mbappe got two… it will be killing him.
“I feel sorry for Martinez because he’s trying to embrace it and he’s saying, ‘No, I’ve got the best goalscorer in the world’, but deep down he must know that’s hurting his team.”
That is the crux of it. Portugal possess a deep, gifted squad, rich in legs and invention. They also possess a global icon who still commands a team, a dressing room and a nation. Scholes’ question cuts through the noise: at 41, is Ronaldo still the answer up front, or the dilemma Martinez no longer dares to solve?
