KEY POINTS

  • Cristiano Ronaldo was brutally bashed by an Italian newspaper
  • Ronaldo suffered the second consecutive final loss of his career
  • Nani said Ronaldo might end his career in the U.S.

Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was criticized by an Italian newspaper following his team's devastating loss to Napoli in the Coppa Italia final.

On Wednesday (June 17), Turin experienced one of its most terrible losses in history. Napoli beat the Old Lady in the Coppa Italia decider, giving Ronaldo his second consecutive final loss, a first in his glorified career.

Napoli won on penalties and lifted the trophy in front of an empty crowd. Following the win, Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Besoccer.com) relentlessly bashed the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. Intense criticism was directed at the Portuguese from the outlet on Thursday morning, including a statement that said Ronaldo “was the worst.”

Inside the pages came even more destructive criticism, with journalist Sebastiano Vernazza pointing out that Ronaldo doesn’t realize he’s not playing in Spain anymore and that he’s shooting the ball more than he’s supposed to.

"He claims the privileges of a centre forward. He thinks he has the right to shoot every time he has the ball and he doesn't realize that he's not at Madrid anymore,” Vernazza wrote.

It was reported that Ronaldo was too eager to shoot the last penalty, a situation which Vernazza also questioned.

“And in the penalties, did he have to hit the last one to celebrate it?" the journalist wrote.

This isn’t the first time Ronaldo has been criticized over his poor performance after the lockdown. On June 13, Juventus took on Milan, and Ronaldo didn’t manage to score a goal the entire game and even badly missed a penalty shot.

Some believe that “CR7” is starting to get “rusty,” but former Juventus star Alessandro Del Piero backed him up. According to Del Piero, “a missed penalty” doesn’t make Ronaldo any less of a superstar. Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri, on the other hand, was still pleased with Ronaldo’s dedication and said that his ace player was just “unlucky.”

One's a crowd: the stands were empty but Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo drew a TV audience of more than 8 million when they returned to action in the Italian cup
One's a crowd: the stands were empty but Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo drew a TV audience of more than 8 million when they returned to action in the Italian cup AFP / Miguel MEDINA

However, there have been rumors about the 35-year-old’s future as many believe that he’s starting to hit the twilight years of his career. In a recent interview with ESPN’s Taylor Twellman, Ronaldo’s former teammate, Nani, revealed what he found out about the Juventus star a few years ago.

As per Nani, Ronaldo once told him that when the time comes, he’ll “probably” end his career in the U.S.

"A couple of years ago, he told me that he will probably end up in America. It's not 100% but probably. There is a chance." Nani revealed.

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