Paul Scholes on Cristiano Ronaldo's Role for Portugal

Paul Scholes believes Cristiano Ronaldo has turned into a tactical headache for Portugal, arguing it is “not right” that the 41-year-old is still leading the line for a side with serious ambitions of winning the World Cup.

Ronaldo, now level with Lionel Messi on a record six World Cup appearances, captained Portugal in their opening group game against DR Congo in Houston on Wednesday. On a night that should have showcased the depth of Roberto Martinez’s star-studded squad, the spotlight instead fell on what their legendary No. 7 could no longer do.

A flat night for a giant

Portugal started like a team ready to make a statement. Joao Neves struck in the sixth minute, an early goal that should have cracked the game open and allowed Martinez’s side to turn dominance into a routine win.

They never did.

Despite controlling the ball and territory, Portugal let DR Congo hang around. Then came the punch in the gut. Just before half-time, Newcastle forward Yoane Wissa pounced against the run of play to level the match. From there, the European giants pushed, probed, and circled the box, but the decisive moment never arrived. The game drifted to a 1-1 draw that felt like a missed opportunity for a team tipped to go deep alongside France, Spain, England and reigning champions Argentina.

In the middle of it all, Ronaldo endured a night to forget. No chances created. No shots. No successful dribbles. Not a single duel won in a first half that looked alarmingly out of step with the intensity around him.

Martinez still left him out there until the final whistle, choosing instead to withdraw Pedro Neto, Vitinha, Bernardo Silva, Tomas Araujo and Nuno Mendes. The armband stayed on Ronaldo’s arm. The faith stayed with him too.

Scholes: “He has to be a last 15 minutes player”

Watching on, Paul Scholes saw a different story. For him, this is no longer just a selection quirk. It is a problem.

“I believe it’s challenging for the manager,” the former England and Manchester United midfielder said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.

Scholes revealed he had already raised the issue directly with Martinez during a Stick to Football recording. “I inquired, ‘Is he a problem for you?’, as I feel he is somewhat of a concern,” he said.

The core of his argument is blunt. Age.

“At 41 years of age… I believe there is only one position on the field where a player of that age should be starting, and that is as a goalkeeper, in my opinion.”

Ronaldo still carries an aura and, as Scholes acknowledged, an enduring threat in front of goal in a possession-heavy side. But international tournaments are rarely all about control. They turn on transitions, on sprints into space, on the ability to press and recover.

“Once there’s a game where it has to be transition… and there will be games like that. His movement at 41 years of age…” Scholes trailed off, letting the implication do the work.

For a man who shared a dressing room with Ronaldo for six years at Old Trafford, the criticism comes wrapped in a degree of sympathy. Scholes says he “feels sorry” for Martinez, convinced the five-time Ballon d’Or winner would be far more dangerous as an impact substitute.

“The trouble with Portugal is they haven’t really got an outstanding centre-forward anyway, have they? You’ve got to have somebody who runs,” he said.

“For me, he has to be a player for the last 15 minutes. For a 40 or 41-year-old to be playing centre-forward, I just don’t get it.

You might get away with it at centre-half, you might do in a team that keeps the ball and you probably get away with it as a goalkeeper, but as a centre-forward at 41… it’s not right.”

The Modric warning and the Messi shadow

Scholes pointed to another icon as a cautionary tale. Croatia’s Luka Modric, still a metronome in midfield at 40, also looked stretched by the physical demands at this level.

“We saw it with Croatia and Luka Modric last night at 40 years old. Central midfield at 40…” Scholes said, leaving the comparison hanging. If midfield looks unforgiving at that age, centre-forward, in his view, is even more brutal.

Layered on top of the tactical debate is the personal rivalry that has defined an era. Ronaldo and Messi have chased each other’s numbers and trophies for nearly two decades. That race has not faded, at least not in Ronaldo’s mind, Scholes believes.

“Cristiano will be so pissed off because Lionel Messi got a hat-trick, Kylian Mbappe got two… it will be killing him.”

That hunger, the same drive that powered Ronaldo to the top, now collides with the realities of time and tournament football. Martinez, Scholes suggests, is caught in the middle.

“I feel sorry for Martinez because he’s trying to embrace it and he’s saying, ‘No, I’ve got the best goalscorer in the world’, but deep down he must know that’s hurting his team.”

Portugal remain loaded with talent and carry the weight of expectation befitting recent Nations League champions. The question now is whether Martinez can separate sentiment from strategy, legend from logic, and decide if Ronaldo is still his spearhead — or his late-game weapon.