World Cup 2026: Cristiano Ronaldo fails to match fellow superstars in Portugal’s draw with DR Congo

Rooney and two former France internationals, Gael Clichy and Olivier Giroud, all thought Conceicao was in a better position to shoot at goal himself rather than try to set up Ronaldo for the striker’s first chance.

Former France full-back Clichy also believed Ronaldo’s superstar status might “unconsciously” have an effect on how some of his team-mates play.

“We said at the beginning of the game that Ronaldo will be helping young players because of his character and experience, but sometimes unconsciously those kinds of players can kind of take too much light,” he told BBC One.

“In the first chance, maybe if it was not Ronaldo, [Conceicao] would have had a go at goal.

“I’ve lived it with some players at Arsenal and Manchester City, where you feel that the player is such an important player, unconsciously he’s taking everything from every player.

“I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, but when you take them out, you can see players taking responsibility.”

Clichy said that situation was not necessarily Ronaldo’s fault and added: “This is normal and this is where the choice of the manager is important because during the 90 minutes, we were saying ‘is he going to take him out because we know he’s got a goal in him?’

“But at the same time, we know the game is sometimes not natural because of him being on the pitch.”