Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez has opened up about Cristiano Ronaldo’s evolving role within the national side as the legendary forward continues to shape the team’s present and future.
At 40, Ronaldo remains a central figure for Portugal and is expected to captain the side at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which he has confirmed will be the final World Cup appearance of his iconic career. Since making his international debut in 2003 as an 18-year-old, Ronaldo has been a constant presence in the squad and recently helped Portugal secure their second UEFA Nations League title, making them the competition’s most successful nation.
Martinez on Ronaldo’s Changing Playing Style
Martinez acknowledged that age has naturally altered Ronaldo’s role on the pitch, transforming him into a more positional and goal-focused striker.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒐 𝑹𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 21 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚,” 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒛 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑬𝑺𝑷𝑵. “𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔.”
The coach also highlighted Ronaldo’s remarkable productivity, emphasizing his continued value in front of goal.
“𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍-𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒓. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 25 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 30 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
Leadership Beyond the Pitch
Beyond his impact on the field, Martinez emphasized Ronaldo’s influence within the dressing room, calling his experience and dedication a powerful example for younger players.
“𝑾𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕. 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 220 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎,” 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒛 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
On the field, Cristiano’s presence continues to shape Portugal’s attacking structure by drawing defenders and creating space for teammates.
“𝑯𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚, 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒅,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅.
As Portugal looks ahead to another World Cup campaign, Martinez made it clear that Cristiano Ronaldo’s leadership, finishing ability, and influence remain central to the team’s ambitions.
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