Ruben Dias insists that Portugal cannot only depend on Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo
Ruben Dias has insisted that Portugal cannot pin all their hopes on Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo at the World Cup later this year.
In an interview published in the Manchester Evening News, the Manchester City defender gave his reasons for such comments.
“No doubt about it. Ronaldo’s status is Ronaldo’s status, and I don’t think there’s much more to add to that. But if we really want to do something special, we have to understand that only all of us together can do that. We don’t lack individualities, so what we need is for all our individualities to find the best way of working together.”
Ronaldo has got off to a very rocky start this season, scoring only one goal so far for Erik ten Hag’s side. The veteran forward is yet to open his account in the Premier League this season.
However, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is a different breed when playing for his country. The 37-year-old has scored 117 goals for his country in 189 appearances, in all competitions.
Dias is right in his assessment. The forward is not what he used to be and his country will have to reduce their reliance on their talisman. This could potentially be his last World Cup.
The Portuguese national team is stacked with talents who play for top clubs throughout Europe. A mix of young and experienced players, they could be considered a potential dark horse for the upcoming tournament.
Both the Manchester clubs have players who are very likely to represent Portugal in November. Dias will meet up with Ronaldo later this month, when both the players report for international duty.
They will hope to combine and land Portugal’s first-ever World Cup. This could well be the last time that CR7 appears in the tournament and hence, we can expect him to give that extra bit when representing Portugal in Qatar..
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The duo will then face off against each other when United travel to face City for a Manchester derby on October 2. It remains to be seen if Ronaldo starts the game for Ten Hag’s side.
