Cristiano Ronaldo may be 37 and without a club but Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri, whose team face Portugal in the World Cup last 16 on Tuesday, says it would be a mistake to consider him a fading force.
“You cannot write off Cristiano, he is one of the best players in the world together with (Lionel) Messi,” Shaqiri told reporters after training on Sunday.
“This guy can score any second, any minute, he has experience and everyone knows how important he is for Portugal and for his team,” added the former Liverpool and Bayern Munich attacker, who scored in Switzerland’s 3-2 win over Serbia on Friday which secured them a place in the knockout stage.
Ronaldo, who has been released by Manchester United after his controversial television interview, has scored once so far in this tournament, with a penalty in the opening group stage 3-2 win over Ghana.