Cristiano Ronaldo has one last shot at winning the World Cup and cementing his legacy as the greatest of all time, but for many, especially Real Madrid fans who watched his excellence of execution year after year at the actual highest level of football in the Champions League, Cristiano is already the greatest ever.
It is no coincidence that the best period of Portuguese football has come with Cristiano as its star man. He was there when they won the European Championship over France in 2016, and now in 2026, they are among the World Cup contenders for the first time since 2006 - his first ever World Cup when he was a sprightly winger playing with Nuno Gomes and Luis Figo.
Everyone who has actually played with Cristiano Ronaldo or supported a team he has been at will not question him, and it seems that it is only the ones talking on the television with agendas who deem him finished or not worthy. Because even his rivals, at the club and international level, have the utmost respect for him.
Cristiano Ronaldo still commands respect
Gavi is famous for being a pest to Real Madrid while playing for Barcelona, but even the Spanish national team center midfielder has displayed the utmost reverence for Cristiano, putting a lot of nonsensical hatred for the legendary Portuguese forward to bed.
The young Barcelona star said of Ronaldo to reporters before the big World Cup Round of 16 clash between Iberian rivals Spain and Portugal, via Madrid Xtra, “Cristiano criticism? The criticism comes from outside. There's no criticism from his teammates. He enjoys great respect in the team. He's one of the greatest in history and capable of deciding any match and making the difference at any moment.”
Everyone from the outside who actually plays the game currently can see the respect Cristiano commands within his own locker room, despite all the manufactured controversy on social media and the commentary from jealous talking heads in the media, and those same outsiders also carry that same respect because they know what Cristiano can do to them in an instant.
No striker at this World Cup deals with tighter marking, and no player is the focus of the defensive game plan quite like Cristiano. Even at 41 years old, he is a massive star, and if Gavi, of all people, is defending the No. 7 like this, then maybe those in punditry should think twice about what they are saying about him in his Last Dance.
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