Cristiano Ronaldo gambles on World Cup to restore reputation

DOHA: Not for the first time, Cristiano Ronaldo is trusting himself to deliver on the big stage. A man of seemingly boundless self-belief is struggling to accept the effects of age and banking on the World Cup to launch a glorious final act to his remarkable career. His explosive interview with Piers Morgan this week has set the stage for a make-or-break few weeks for the 37-year-old Portugal forward and left him with little room to maneuver if it goes wrong.

It’s quite the gamble. But for Ronaldo, who has written his own story in a trophy-laden career, it’s unlikely failure has even been considered. He has very deliberately ensured the focus is on him in Qatar by waging a public war with Manchester United and putting himself on the market.

The question is whether it is a case of self-belief or self-delusion. On the evidence of his performances on the field this season, reality has hit him hard. The burst of speed appears to have gone.

The energy levels are not the same. And, perhaps most shockingly, that cutting edge just isn’t there. Of United’s 21 games this season, Ronaldo has been involved in 16 of them and scored only three goals.

Two of those goals were against Moldovan club Sheriff FC in the Europa League — one a penalty. The other was a winner against Everton and marked the 700th of his club career. Despite the milestone he achieved with that goal in the Premier League, those statistics provide little in the way of evidence that he is about to make an emphatic statement at the World Cup.