Roy Keane and Gary Neville were both on the same wavelength over a former Manchester United star after what they saw at Euro 2024 in Germany.
Euro 2024 will resume on Tuesday evening as Spain will face France in the semi-finals at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Spain have deeply impressed at the tournament and La Roja knocked host nation Germany out of the Euros with a 2-1 win in the quarter-finals.
France, who are considered one of the tournament favourites, punched their ticket to the semi-finals by beating Portugal on penalties in the last eight.
Following on from Spain and France’s semi-final showdown, the Netherlands will face England in the last four of Euro 2024 on Wednesday evening.
The Netherlands reached the semi-finals with a 2-1 comeback win against Turkey, while England secured a penalty shootout win over Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
Keane reacts to former Man Utd star at Euro 2024
Manchester United legends Roy Keane and Gary Neville have both been part of ITV’s punditry line-up for this summer’s Euros.
Keane has now made his feelings clear on what he saw from former United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, who bowed out of the tournament with Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo was competing at his sixth European Championship and his 11th major international tournament with the Portugal national team.
The 39-year-old United legend struggled to make his mark at the Euros, with Ronaldo managing only one assist and failing to score once at the tournament.
Speaking on the Stick to Football, Keane admitted that the time has come for Ronaldo to take a major “step back” from international football after Euro 2024.
“He [Cristiano Ronaldo] should have a break and step back from international football, and if he’s still playing at club level, then have a look at the World Cup when it comes around,” he said on The Overlap.
“We look at [Harry] Kane when Kane’s quite off it, and your main goal scorers not at it, you’re playing with 10 men. When you’re playing at the highest level, you really can’t carry anybody. His [Cristiano Ronaldo] movement is still there – against France, brilliant.
“He [Cristiano Ronaldo] can carry on playing, but just not international football. How many footballers do we know that have stopped playing international football at a younger age and obviously carried on having a club career.
“Part of your decision-making [when you’re coming to the end of your career] is to step back to let other players learn. You could be holding people back and that’s not good for the bigger picture [of the team].”
Neville reacts to Ronaldo’s Euro 2024 performances
Cristiano Ronaldo admitted that Euro 2024 would be the final European Championship that he would play in during his legendary Portugal career.
However, the Al Nassr superstar has not ruled out retirement from international football ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Ronaldo would be 41 years old by the time that the next World Cup comes around, with the tournament set to be held in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Neville agreed with the sentiments of Keane about Ronaldo and believes his former United teammate should call it time on his playing career with Portugal.
Speaking on Ronaldo, he said: “This dynamic of unbelievable desire, self-fight, determination – all those things that you love about him [Ronaldo] – how overbearing is it for the rest of the players and the manager and the country?
“There’s two things – one, the player sometimes knows when to let it go, but there are some players who don’t and need telling but there is an element of who tells him [Ronaldo].
“I don’t think he’s [Ronaldo] got it in him. At the end of the day, I’m not saying that if they [Portugal] had played with Diogo Jota they would have done better at this tournament or not do better, but that overbearing nature of his presence is huge – it was at [Manchester] United at the end.”