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<p style="display: none;">Article continues below</p><script type="application/json" data-placement="footballco-bet-betsense">{"type":"footballco-bet-betsense","data":{}}</script><p style="display: none;">Article continues below</p><p style="display: none;">Article continues below</p><script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_d6e1e5da-7d9a-43d5-97e1-f4350a3cd7e3"}}</script><ul><li>Portuguese superstar still going strong at 39</li><li>Intends to reach 1,000 goals before retiring</li><li>Outspoken Italian has never been a CR7 fan</li></ul><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va2ivxLJJhzdzbJdwo0n"><strong>Follow GOAL on WhatsApp!</strong></a> 🟢📱</td></tr></tbody></table>

Cristiano Ronaldo trolled by ex-Real Madrid forward in bizarre ‘doesn’t know how to play football’ rant

<p>With <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/records-follow-me-cristiano-ronaldo-reacts-more-history-al-nassr-superstar-50-goals-season/blt6adf896e2fd67e6e" target="_blank">five Ballons d’Or and countless records</a> to his name, current Al-Nassr forward Ronaldo has <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/cristiano-ronaldo-big-ego-greatest-role-model-football-history-world-cup-winning-midfielder-explains-huge-respect-al-nassr-superstar/bltba5fc38e02fd6a0d" target="_blank">cemented a standing among the all-time greats</a>. His legacy will live on well beyond the hanging up of boots – whenever the day comes for retirement to be taken.</p>

WHAT HAPPENED?

<p>CR7 does not, however, enjoy universal acclaim. Former Italy international Cassano, who severed ties with the ‘Galacticos’ at Santiago Bernabeu a year prior to Ronaldo’s arrival in 2009, has never been a big fan of <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-cm/lists/reason-why-cristiano-ronaldo-saudi-arabia-problem-portugal-39-year-old-extends-career-2026-world-cup/blt27f1ef1a43ca9f8d" target="_blank">what the mercurial Portuguese has to offer</a>.</p>

THE BIGGER PICTURE

<p>With Ronaldo <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/why-900-goal-cristiano-ronaldo-wont-give-up-any-time-soon-al-nassr-superstar-enjoying-hero-worship-portugal/blt3ef911d4983909aa" target="_blank">in the process of chasing down 1,000 career goals </a>– as he continues to play on with club and country at 39 years of age – outspoken Cassano has told the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/vivaelfutbolofficial/?hl=en " target="_blank"><em>Viva El Futbol</em></a> podcast: “Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't know how to play football. He could score 3000 goals, I don't give a f*ck. [Gonzalo] Higuain, [Sergio] Aguero, [Karim] Benzema, [Robert] Lewandowski, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic and [Luis] Suarez knew how to link-up with the team. They knew how to do a lot of things, unlike Ronaldo whose only objective has always been to score.”</p>

WHAT CASSANO SAID

<p>Cassano said of Ronaldo back in 2022, when suggesting that the <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/ronaldo-told-its-time-to-retire-cassano-aims-messi-sacrifices-dig-at-man-utd-star/blt703895644470e6f3" target="_blank">time had come for him to walk away from competitive action</a>: “A guy like Cristiano has to think about himself and if you can't do it anymore then you have to call it a day. It's a rule in all sports. Retire, that's enough! He has won everything, he has been a phenomenon, he has earned a lot of money and now he is not a starter at Manchester United.”</p>

DID YOU KNOW?

<p>Ronaldo was <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/ronaldo-on-purpose-man-utd-exit-strategy-stam-handled-better/blt9b32129c6b01c4a3" target="_blank">released by United in November 2022</a>, allowing him to head to the Saudi Pro League – where his <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/proud-cristiano-ronaldo-thanks-man-utd-golden-boot-record-al-nassr-superstar-more-goalscoring-history/bltd1a95d73f71bd357" target="_blank">prolific strike rate has been maintained</a>. Cassano, meanwhile, retired in 2017 at the age of 35 having spent time with the likes of Real, Roma, Sampdoria, AC Milan, Inter and Parma.</p>

WHAT NEXT?

Cristiano Ronaldo trolled by ex-Real Madrid forward in bizarre ‘doesn’t know how to play football’ rant | Goal.com US

Cristiano Ronaldo has been brutally trolled by ex-Real Madrid star Antonio Cassano, with the Portuguese told he “doesn’t know how to play football”.