Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo Branded a Hypocrite for Shedding 'Crocodile Tears' at Euro 2024

• Cristiano Ronaldo has been harshly told that his tears during Portugal's last-16 match-up with Slovenia were fake
• The 39-year-old's emotional breakdown has been labelled as an attempt to 'steal' the spotlight from his own teammates
• As Portugal advances to the quarter-finals, Ronaldo's leadership and performance will continue to be under scrutiny

Cristiano Ronaldo has been labelled a 'hypocrite' by Dutch legend, Ruud Gullit, after his rollercoaster of emotions during Portugal's Round of 16 victory over Slovenia at Euro 2024.

The 2016 European champions had to dig deep to seal a spot in the quarter-finals, needing a post-match penalty shootout win to overcome the Slovenians in dramatic fashion.

Ronaldo's penalty miss leads to emotional breakdown

Prior to the shootouts, Ronaldo had a perfect opportunity to break the game's deadlock on the stroke of first-half extra time.

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However, the usually dependable forward missed from the spot, leaving the Al-Nassr captain visibly shattered, per the BBC.

The 39-year-old, looking distraught, believed he had cost his side a spot in the last eight and had to be consoled by his teammates as he fought back tears.

From tears to cheers: Ronaldo redeems himself

Despite this setback, Cristiano managed to pick himself up and redeemed his image by scoring Portugal's first penalty in the shootout.

His successful attempt from 12 yards, along with Diogo Costa's superhuman saves which stopped all three of Slovenia's attempts, led Portugal to a 3-0 win.

After his successful penalty, Ronaldo apologised to the fans. However, not everyone accepted his apology or trusted his emotional breakdown during the game.

Ronaldo slammed for 'crocodile' tears

Gullit, who captained the Netherlands to Euros victory in 1988, criticised CR7 for what he described as unnecessary 'selfishness' and trying to 'steal the spotlight' during Portugal's drama-filled win.

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"Ronaldo tried to take every free kick given to Portugal, even though he scores one out of every 60. There are those who shoot better than him in Portugal's team, but he wants to steal the spotlight as usual," Gullit reportedly told the media, as cited by Tribuna.

In the eyes of the Netherlands legend, Ronaldo's emotional breakdown was 'fake' and an attempt to focus attention on himself.

"Frankly speaking, I did not like what happened in the match. He wasted all those free kicks and failed to score a penalty kick. Then he burst into tears. I see them as crocodile tears.

"What Ronaldo is doing is truly unacceptable. I like him, but I'm not impressed with his behaviour by calling all the fouls in the game," Gullit stated.

Ronaldo lauds Portugal's resilience

Sports Brief also reported that Cristiano Ronaldo lauded Portugal's resilience for winning via penalties against Slovenia, securing a spot in the 2024 European Championship quarter-finals.

In a dramatic match at Deutsche Bank Park on Monday, CR7 experienced a rollercoaster of emotions but ultimately shifted the spotlight to his national squad, commending their determination.