World Cup: Nicky Butt tells Ronaldo he’s a major problem for Portugal

Former Manchester United player Nicky Butt has said that Portugal manager Roberto Martinez faces a “massive problem” with 41‑year‑old Cristiano Ronaldo.

Martinez defended his choice not to substitute the Al Nassr forward during their 1‑1 draw with DR Congo on Wednesday.

The Spanish manager avoided directly addressing Ronaldo’s largely muted performance at the post‑match press conference, instead attributing the result to a perceived lack of support in attack.

On The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, Butt remarked, “I think he’s got that much of an ego, Cristiano. He’s a great lad but he’s got such an ego and he’ll be a massive problem for that squad.”

“He was a problem when he came back to Manchester United for a second time,” Butt added. “If you look at the fans for Portugal’s draw with DR Congo last night, they had around 20,000 Portuguese fans and I reckon 18,000 had ‘Ronaldo 7’ on their back so you’ve also got that to deal with as a manager as well.”

After the game, Martinez told reporters, “We have to utilise all the players on the pitch. The lead attacker [Ronaldo] needs to be close to the six‑yard box and we need to get the ball to him.”