Ronaldo s theory of "blocking the way" was slapped in the face by a celebrity! Ferdinand: He subverts science, and is still a trump card at the age of 40

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand refuted the statement that "Royce takes over the starting position and hinders the development of a new generation of Portugal's players." He believes that Ronaldo is still a very influential player, and he is the better choice for Portugal's forward line than Gonzalo Ramos.

As the greatest player in the history of Portuguese football, Ronaldo has maintained two national team records: he won the team in 201 appearances, and terrifying data that contributed 138 goals and 45 assists in 221 games, leading the international competition scorer list. In the 2024-25 European League event, the 40-year-old Ronaldo scored 8 goals and gave 1 assist in 9 games. He scored goals in the semi-finals against Germany and Spain in the finals, and was the core contributor to Portugal's championship.

Although there are new forwards such as Gonzalo Ramos, Diogo Jota and João Felix in the team, coach Roberto Martinez still chooses to lead the front line with Ronaldo. Ferdinand expressed his opinion on "Royce's theory of hindering the growth of newcomers" in his personal channel "Rio Ferdinand Presents": "Ramos is not as good as Ronaldo at all. He is just a substitute at Paris Saint-Germain, and Ronaldo scored three goals in the UEFA Europa League semi-finals and finals against Dessi and the two strong players. The logic of some people is puzzling - don't forget that Ronaldo just scored 43 goals this season! He will be 41 years old at the start of the World Cup. The laws of science claim that this age cannot remain at its peak, but he is subverting all cognitions."

Ferdinand added: "If I coached, he will set a fixed playing time for each game. It is impossible to require him to play for 90 minutes every game and be able to stay in shape throughout the whole game. I will select specific games to send him, but I firmly believe that he can still attack the city and lead the way. Adopting a rotation strategy is not to deny his ability, nor to think that he hinders the development of the team. On the contrary, he is still the key gentleman in deciding the game, ready to prove his value with goals at any time." In Ronaldo's brilliant journey, he has won three major trophys for Portugal: the 2016 European Cup championship, and the 2019 and 2025 European League championships.