World Cup 2026: ‘Ronaldo’s legacy will be spoiled’ – Vieira sends message to Portugal coach

Former France international, Patrick Vieira, has said that the legacy of Portugal captain, Cristiano Ronaldo will be spoiled a little bit after he recently failed to score a goal in his team’s 1-1 draw with DR Congo in the FIFA World Cup.

Vieira said this on The Rest Is Football podcast while calling on Portugal manager Roberto Martinez to bench Ronaldo in their next World Cup clash against Uzbekistan next week.

The Arsenal legend wants Martinez to think about the Portugal team first and not the Al-Nassr forward.

“He has to think about the team first before thinking about Ronaldo. So he will have to make a really strong decision not to start him if the team is better without him,” Vieira said

“I worry for him , his legacy will be spoiled a little bit if he kicks off and he gets taken off, because for two decades he has been an extraordinarily wonderful footballer.”