'Cristiano Ronaldo's the biggest flop of FIFA World Cup': German great Lothar Matthaus on Portuguese superstar

Cristiano Ronaldo has been called the ‘flop of the World Cup’ by German legend Lothar Matthaus.

Matthaus won the World Cup as a player in 1990 with Germany and held the record for most appearances at the finals – until Lionel Messi broke it in 2022.

In a column for German newspaper BILD, Matthaus hit out at Ronaldo, who left Manchester United shortly before the World Cup started.

The 61-year-old said Ronaldo has damaged his legacy with his poor tournament.

Ronaldo scored just one goal, from the penalty spot, in Portugal’s opening game against Ghana. He was dropped from the Portugal starting line-up for the knockout stages, appearing as a substitute, with Portugal knocked out by Morocco in the quarter-finals.

While Lionel Messi went on to win the tournament with Argentina, Ronaldo ended without a World Cup knockout goal.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is of course the big flop of this World Cup, the opposite of Messi. He has damaged the team and himself with his ego trip,” Matthaus wrote. 

“He was once a great footballer, a world-class goalscorer. Now he has permanently damaged this monument. I can’t imagine him finding another club. Somehow I feel sorry for Ronaldo.”

Ronaldo came into Qatar in turmoil after blowing up his Manchester United career.