da 888casino： Euro 2000 winner Frank Leboeuf has claimed Portugal are a genuine contender at Euro 2024 this summer but must first drop an ageing Cristiano Ronaldo.
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Leboeuf picks Portugal to win 2024But victory depends on key conditionThey must drop 39-year-old RonaldoWHAT HAPPENED?
Leboeuf, famously once of Chelsea and a World Cup winner with France in 1998, suggested that Portugal's chances of claiming a second European Championship title in the space of eight years depends on a 39-year-old Ronaldo not being involved.
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Speaking to sports betting site , Lebeouf said: "For me, Portugal are actually one of the contenders for this summer's European Championships. I actually think they can win the Euros, but only if Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't play.
"You cannot take away anything that Ronaldo has done for football just because he has gone to retire in the Saudi League. I want to thank him for taking the sport to another level, but there is an end for everyone. He has every right to play in Saudi Arabia, although I'm not sure he needed even more money! I have no problem with players coming to the end of their careers going to play in lesser leagues to earn more money, the same has happened with Lionel Messi. Both of them were fantastic players but they have chosen not to play at the top level anymore and we have to respect that. You can never take away what they have done for football. The competition between those two actually made the entire sport better. It made it more attractive."
Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Ronaldo captained Portugal in all but one of their 10 qualifiers for Euro 2024, scoring 10 times across those nine appearances. But while he has always found the net at a prolific rate in qualifying games and friendles, his record at major tournaments is much less strong. Ronaldo scored only once at the World Cup in 2022, drew a blank in Portugal's last 16 exit to Belgium at Euro 2020 and failed to find the net after the second group game at the 2018 World Cup. Portugal also arguably even won Euro 2016 in spite of him, rather than because of him. Now that he is in his 40th year and playing club football away from an elite level, the argument to let go is only growing stronger.
DID YOU KNOW?
Ronaldo is among a handful of players that were present at Euro 2004 who are still playing in 2024. Lukas Podolski, 38 and playing for Gornik Zabrze in Poland, ex-Manchester City striker Valeri Bojinov, 38 and now based in Bulgaria's lower leagues, and Igor Akinfee, 37 and still CSKA Moscow captain, are the others.