Is Cristiano Ronaldo Still Portugal Captain Under New Coach, Roberto Martinez?

Cristiano Ronaldo remains part of Portugal’s squad at 38 years of age, but is the iconic forward still captain of his country under Roberto Martinez?

Following a dismal 2022 World Cup quarterfinal loss to Morocco, Fernando Santos, the Euro 2016 champion, has left his position as coach of the Portuguese team.

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The biggest difficulty for ex-Belgium manager Martinez, who is now in charge, is how to handle Ronaldo.

While Ronaldo was benched at times in Qatar, and is now plying his trade at club level for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, Martinez says the five-time Ballon d’Or winner will be a leader in his squad.

The Spaniard has said: “At the moment, the players with more experience and international caps are the captains: Ronaldo, Rui Patricio and Bernardo Silva. They will be the team captains.”

Cr7 has 196 caps for Portugal and a record-breaking 118 goals in that time. He is now hoping to continue his career in preparation for another important tournament, the Euro 2024 qualifiers beginning on Thursday at home against Liechtenstein.

He made his senior international debut for Portugal in 2003, making him a 20-year veteran of the game. Since moving to the Middle East after being released by Manchester United, Ronaldo has scored goals for clubs there.