'Cristiano Ronaldo upsets his teammates'... Football icon slams Portugal star ahead of Croatia match

Cristiano Ronaldo has received criticism from a former England international ahead of Portugal vs Croatia.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 showdown is set to take place at Toronto Stadium in Toronto, Canada.

John Barnes slams Cristiano Ronaldo

John Barnes believes Roberto Martinez playing Cristiano Ronaldo is likely to end in disaster.

The former Liverpool star told BetFred: “The better that Lionel Messi does, that’ll play on Cristiano’s mind, and he’ll demand more from his teammates and become more upset if things aren’t going his way. I think it’s an accident waiting to happen.”

Barnes, who has claimed Thomas Tuchel wouldn’t have picked Ronaldo if he were at the helm with Portugal, believes that while Messi brings a lot to the Argentina locker room, ‘CR7’ brings the mood down.

WOW: Why Spain defeating Austria is terrible for Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo

The 62-year-old said: “No, I’m not surprised with what Messi is doing because he’s got the quality and he manages his games very well. The players accept him, and he accepts the players, so Messi doesn’t have to run around too much, but his teammates don’t mind that because they love him as he’s humble and he respects them, so they’re actually playing for Messi, but with Portugal, it’s a bit different. I don’t think the players are quite happy with Ronaldo because the way he reacts when he doesn’t get the ball upsets the players, whereas Messi doesn’t upset his teammates.”