Cristiano Ronaldo is dominating football headlines following his lacklustre performance in Portugal’s win over Slovenia in the quarterfinals of Euro 2024. Besides his lack of efficiency, Ronaldo has also attracted attention for his apparent lack of effort on the pitch.
According to the numbers presented by SafeBettingSites.com, Ronaldo has covered just 9.17kms per 90 minutes at the tournament. Only one other outfield player in the Portugal side has covered less ground on average in the ongoing tournament.
Ronaldo second last among outfield Portugal players at Euro 2024
Cristiano Ronaldo is not having a great time at Euro 2024. The Portugal captain has yet to open his goal tally at the tournament despite playing more minutes than any of his teammates. This lack of goals from their star player has undoubtedly affected Portugal’s overall performance in the tournament.
The superstar came under further scrutiny after missing a penalty and numerous free-kicks during Portugal’s shootout win over Slovenia in the round of 16.
Ronaldo has not only been ineffective in front of the goal, but he has also been lacking in the effort. According to our calculations, Ronaldo has covered 9.17 km every 90 minutes so far in the ongoing tournament. Only two other Portuguese players have covered less ground on average than Ronaldo, and one of those two players is goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who has covered 4.94 km every 90 minutes during the tournament. The only outfield Portugal player to cover less ground than Ronaldo is Rafael Leao, who has covered 8.95 km every 90 minutes. For our analysis, we have compared only those Portugal players who played 180 or more minutes so far in the ongoing tournament.
On the top end of the table, Bernardo Silva has covered the most distance every 90 minutes for Portugal. The Manchester City star has run 11.79 km every 90 minutes for his national side at Euro 2024. Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes is the next name on the list, with an average of 11.43 km per 90 minutes. Midfielder Vitinha is not far behind, with an average of 11.42 km every 90 minutes.
Vyom Chaudhary, editor at SafeBettingSites.com, commented: “The fact that even Pepe, who is 41 years old, has managed to cover more ground on average raises further doubts about Ronaldo’s position in the starting eleven. It would be interesting to see whether Ronaldo keeps his place in the starting eleven in the all-important quarter final clash against France.”
