Gary Neville’s Idea that Cristiano Ronaldo ‘Doesn’t Work Hard Enough’ has been Shot Down by Former Manchester United Goalie Tim Howard.

The Portuguese forward is a famous figure at Old Trafford, having played for Manchester United twice, even though his second spell ended badly. Real Madrid’s Ronaldo played 346 games and scored 145 goals for the club.

However, it was said that he did not work hard enough on the field. When asked about it in October 2021, former Manchester United back Gary Neville said, ‘It brings big good things, but it also brings problems.’ Let’s just say Ronaldo had to be worked on…

In the 2008 Barcelona semi-final away from home, Cristiano Ronaldo was pushed up front by himself, Wayne Rooney and Ji-Sung Park were pushed wide, and Carlos Tevez was brought back to mark Busquets. Sometimes he doesn’t work hard enough, so you couldn’t carry him in big games. He’s now playing up front, where you can’t press from. With Cristiano up front, Manchester United will never be able to become a pressing team. A good 10 to 15 years ago, he wasn’t pushing.

Former USA goalkeeper Tim Howard, on the other hand, doesn’t think that’s true and has praised Ronaldo’s attitude. He told the Daily Mail, ‘You see the ads for perfume and underwear. You see the ads for McLarens and Ferraris, homes and yachts.’ Ronaldo was the guy. You have never, ever seen a person work so hard as he did. People have said bad things about Ronaldo’s work rate in the past. He used to say that he wouldn’t be nearly as successful as he is now if he hadn’t worked hard.

When asked about what it takes to become a great football player, the Portuguese forward told France Football in 2019: ‘First, you need talent.’ You can’t do much without that.

‘Then the talent doesn’t matter if you don’t work hard.’ There is no magic or shortcut. Without the hard work, I would not be where I am now. Ronaldo has found his scoring touch again since leaving Old Trafford for the second time. He now plays for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia and has scored 38 goals in 44 games across all categories.

He signed a deal with Al-Nassr that pays him about £173m a year, and he only has 12 months and a half left on it. The team he plays for is currently off from league play. Their next game is later this month when they play Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League.