Here's why Cristiano Ronaldo won't feature for Portugal in Euro 2024 Qualifiers' next clash
Sep 09, 2023
Almancil [Portugal], September 9 : Goal-scoring machine Cristiano Ronaldo is set to miss Portugal's Euro 2024 qualifier against Luxembourg which will be played on Tuesday.
Ronaldo ended up picking a yellow card in Portugal's 1-0 victory over Slovakia on Friday, which resulted in his suspension in the next game.
The former Real Madrid player was a bit lucky as he could have potentially seen another colour of the card. He caught goalkeeper Martin Dubravka in the face and referee Glenn Nyberg decided to show him a yellow instead of red.
Still, the yellow card he picked up was enough to get him suspended as this was his third yellow of the European Championship qualifying campaign.
Ronaldo at the age of 38 is still dominating the world of football at the international level. Alongside Lionel Messi he has created the greatest rivalry of the present era. But the Al Nassr forward feels that the time has come for their long-lived rivalry to end.
The Portuguese talked about his relationship with Messi, with whom he had a highly competitive individual rivalry in the last decade which is a massive chapter of European Football history. It ended this decade with both of them leaving European Football at club level.
Ronaldo admitted that both of them changed the history of football and urged his fans not to hate Messi.
"If you like Cristiano, you don't have to hate Messi. The two changed the history of football and are respected. Rivalry? I do not see those things like that, we shared the stage for 15 years. I am not saying we are friends but we respect each other," he told reporters, according to Goal.com.
The duo spent over a decade in Spain with Ronaldo representing Real Madrid and Messi wearing the iconic Barcelona colours of blue and garnet. The duo won numerous titles for their teams single-handedly with their goal-scoring abilities, be it the La Liga title, UEFA Champions League, Copa Del Ray, FIFA Club World Cup. Last year, Messi won the title that finally completed him as a footballer - the FIFA World Cup trophy with Argentina, something which Ronaldo has yet to achieve.
After dominating European football for years, both stars left Europe early this year with Ronaldo joining Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia and Messi signing a deal with Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami, US. Both have captured trophies with their new clubs, with Ronaldo winning the Arab Club Champions Cup this year and Messi leading his side to their first-ever title, the Leagues Cup 2023.
