"Somebody that has won everything has the hunger of somebody that hasn't won a trophy yet." That's Roberto Martinez on Cristiano Ronaldo — and if you've been writing the 41-year-old off as a ceremonial fixture at the 2026 World Cup, the Portugal coach has a different read.
Speaking in Lisbon on Thursday, Martinez was unequivocal: Ronaldo earns his place the same way everyone else does. Training. Output. Tactical execution. The icon status doesn't come into it.
"We manage the Cristiano Ronaldo that plays for the national team trying to get into the squad for 2026, not the iconic figure," Martinez said. That's a meaningful distinction — and one Portugal will need to hold firm on when tournament pressure arrives.
What the numbers actually say
The easiest way to dismiss the Ronaldo debate is to lean on age. Martinez leans on data instead. Under his management, Ronaldo has scored 25 goals in 30 Portugal appearances — a better goals-per-game ratio than under any previous national team coach. That's not sentiment. That's a striker still producing at an elite level.
Martinez also pointed to the subtler contributions that don't show up in goal tallies: the diagonal runs, the splitting of centre-backs, the space created for teammates. "He's been disciplined to be in the right positions, always executing the attacking patterns that we have," he said. For a team that will rely on clinical finishing in tight knockout games, those movements matter.
Starting XI or super-sub — does it matter?
The 2022 World Cup left a question hanging. Fernando Santos dropped Ronaldo for the Switzerland last-16 tie. Portugal won 6-1 without him. The role question never really went away.
Martinez's answer is essentially that modern football has dissolved the stigma. With five substitutions now standard, the line between starter and impact player has blurred. "It's almost like we've got a starting team and a finishing team. There is no distinction," he said. If Ronaldo finishes games rather than starting all of them, that's a tactical call — not a demotion.
Portugal's odds to go deep in North America hinge on how well Martinez navigates those calls. A Ronaldo who accepts his role and delivers in 30-minute bursts is a weapon. A Ronaldo who disrupts the setup chasing 90 minutes is a liability. Martinez insists the former is what he has.
"Every taxi driver" has a take on Ronaldo, he acknowledged. His job is to ignore the noise and pick on merit. At 25 goals in 30 games, the evidence hasn't given him a reason to drop him yet.
