Former Germany and Liverpool star Didi Hamann has criticized Cristiano Ronaldo’s emotional outburst in Portugal’s shootout win over Slovenia in EURO 2024 Round-of-16. According to Hamann, the 39-year-old showed his “true colors” and made it all about himself after he cried during half-time in extra-time.
Cristiano Ronaldo Cried After Missing A Penalty In Portugal’s Win Over Slovenia
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo captained Portugal as they took to the pitch to take on Slovenia in the Round of 16 of EURO 2024. The 39-year-old demonstrated a lot of desire, but he failed to put any real pressure on Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
With both teams failing to find a breakthrough in 90 minutes, the game went into extra time. In the 104th minute, Slovenia defender Vanja Drkusic brought down Diogo Jota inside the penalty area, giving Os Navegadores a gilt-edged opportunity to get their noses in front.
Designated penalty taker Ronaldo dispatched a decent penalty, but goalkeeper Oblak was equal to his effort, with the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper leaping to his left and denying the ex-Real Madrid ace. Ronaldo was disappointed with his miss and was caught crying on the pitch during the half-time in extra-time.
Didi Hamann Calls Ronaldo Selfish For Crying In EURO Clash
While some have been lauding Ronaldo for showing his vulnerable side, Hamann has a different take on the incident. Speaking on RTÉ Sport, he accused Ronaldo of making it all about himself and called his outburst “embarrassing.”
Hamann said (via The Irish Independent):
“All he thinks about is himself. I think he showed his true colors again. Missing the penalty, he starts crying on the pitch, he starts crying at half-time in extra-time. And I’m thinking ‘it’s not all about you’.
“There’s a squad of 26 players, there’s 20 staff, there’s 30 or 40,000 fans in there, it’s not about you. You try to be mutual, but I was cheering Slovenia on because I thought the reaction was embarrassing, I thought it was out of order.”
While discussing Ronaldo’s reaction, Hamann also predicted the outcome of the quarter-final clash between France and Portugal.
“I’ve never seen anything like it, because once you show emotions, once you get emotional, it’s the end of it. So that was the point where the manager had to say you’ve got to come off because you’re not in the right frame of mind to carry on playing,” he added.
“He scores the penalty and apologizes to the fans, he doesn’t need to apologize. He will start the next game but I can’t see any other outcome than a France win.”
Portugal secured a 3-0 win in the shootout, thanks to their goalkeeper Diogo Costa. The Porto goalkeeper saved all three of Slovenia’s penalties, becoming the first player in EURO history to make as many saves in one game.
