Roy Keane believes Cristiano Ronaldo's attitude hasn't changed in recent years after his behaviour was criticised by other pundits.
Ronaldo, 37, threw a strop after being substituted during Portugal's 2-1 defeat to South Korea at the World Cup in Qatar. Portugal boss Fernando Santos dropped the five-time Ballon d'Or winner for their next game - the 6-1 win against Switzerland on Tuesday night.
Ronaldo's former Manchester United team-mate Gary Neville described his antics as 'petulant', but Keane thinks the veteran forward has faced similar criticism throughout his career. He's also reminded critics of Ronaldo's age in a fierce defence of his ex-colleague.
"Are footballers supposed to be perfect?" Keane asked Sky Bet. " Cristiano Ronaldo had this attitude 10 years ago, but the following game he would score a hat trick, and he was 27 - everyone would forgive him. People say that he makes teams worse - Juventus haven’t done anything since he left them a couple of years ago."
Juventus sold Ronaldo to United at the beginning of the 2021/22 campaign and went on to endure their first trophyless term for 11 years. The Italian giants are also struggling this season after being knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage.
Many critics believe Ronaldo's return to Old Trafford in August 2021 was the reason why they struggled last season. United finished second in the Premier League under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during the 2020/21 campaign but dropped down to sixth last season.
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Ronaldo was United's talisman during the 2021/22 term but played a supporting role under Erik ten Hag during the first half of this season. United's fortunes have improved, as they are just three points behind Tottenham in fourth with a game in hand.
Ronaldo's hopes of starting Portugal's World Cup quarter-final against Morocco on Saturday are slim after their win against Switzerland. It would be harsh for his replacement Goncalo Ramos to be axed, seeing as he scored a hat-trick in the 6-1 victory.
Keane added: "Against Switzerland, the Portugal manager made a correct decision to replace Ronaldo with someone who offered more mobility up front. He [Ramos] scores a hat trick, and everyone looks straight to Ronaldo. I always thought there could be a chance that Ronaldo wouldn’t start a World Cup knockout game for Portugal – he’s 37!"
Ronaldo's behaviour has been criticised on several occasions in recent months. The Real Madrid legend was slammed for refusing to come on during United's 2-0 win against Tottenham in October. He left Old Trafford before the end of that Premier League game.
Ronaldo also hit the headlines in November when he criticised Ten Hag and United's owners the Glazers in a sensational interview with Piers Morgan. His contract was terminated by mutual consent shortly after the chat was broadcasted.
After Ronaldo's behaviour against South Korea, Neville said: "There are a lot of fans of Cristiano Ronaldo that aren't willing to tell him the truth and I think that he does need to listen to the truth and it's becoming a little bit of a scruffy end... the petulance, stomping around, the sulking."
