Paul Scholes on Ronaldo's Role at 41 in World Cup
Paul Scholes believes Cristiano Ronaldo has become “a problem” for Portugal, arguing that a 41-year-old should not be leading the line at a World Cup.
Ronaldo, now into his fifth decade, matched Lionel Messi’s record by appearing at a sixth World Cup and captained Portugal in their opening group game against DR Congo in Houston on Wednesday. The occasion was historic. His performance was anything but.
A quiet night for a giant
Portugal started as one of the tournament’s heavyweights. Roberto Martinez has a deep, gifted squad, the reigning 2025 Nations League champions bracketed with France, Spain, England and holders Argentina as genuine contenders.
An early goal seemed to confirm the script. Joao Neves struck in the sixth minute, Portugal seized control, and the game looked set to become a routine statement win.
Then the control faded into something more sterile.
Despite dominating the ball, Martinez’s side failed to turn possession into chances. Just before half-time, they were punished. Newcastle forward Yoane Wissa broke against the run of play and levelled, leaving Portugal to chase a winner that never came. The 1–1 draw felt flat, wasteful, oddly muted for a team with this much attacking talent.
At the centre of that frustration stood Ronaldo.
Across a particularly stark first half, he did not create a chance. Did not take a shot. Did not complete a dribble. Did not win a single duel. For a player whose career has been built on constant involvement and ruthless impact, the numbers were jarring.
Martinez, though, refused to pull his captain. Ronaldo stayed on until the final whistle while Pedro Neto, Vitinha, Bernardo Silva, Tomas Araujo and Nuno Mendes all made way.
Scholes: “He has to be a last 15 minutes player”
Watching on, Paul Scholes saw a manager trapped by the weight of a legend.
“I believe it’s challenging for the manager,” the former England and Manchester United midfielder said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast. He revealed he had already raised the issue directly with Martinez in a private conversation during a Stick to Football recording.
“I once had a conversation with Roberto Martinez off-camera… where I inquired, ‘Is he a problem for you?’, as I feel he is somewhat of a concern,” Scholes said.
For Scholes, the issue is simple: age and position.
“At 41 years of age… I believe there is only one position on the field where a player of that age should be starting, and that is as a goalkeeper, in my opinion.”
Ronaldo’s reputation as a finisher is not in question. Scholes acknowledged that in a side that dominates the ball, the forward will still score.
“Now look, he is going to score goals and he’s in a team that have a lot of possession, but once there’s a game where it has to be transition… and there will be games like that. His movement at 41 years of age…”
That, for Scholes, is where the problem bites. Knockout football often lives in those transition moments. If your centre-forward cannot run, press, or stretch a defence, the whole structure suffers.
Scholes, who shared a dressing room with Ronaldo for six years at Old Trafford, believes the solution is to reduce, not increase, his role.
“The trouble with Portugal is they haven’t really got an outstanding centre-forward anyway, have they? You’ve got to have somebody who runs,” he said.
“For me, he has to be a player for the last 15 minutes. For a 40 or 41-year-old to be playing centre-forward, I just don’t get it.
“You might get away with it at centre-half, you might do in a team that keeps the ball and you probably get away with it as a goalkeeper, but as a centre-forward at 41… it’s not right.”
Modric, Messi, Mbappe – and Ronaldo’s pride
Scholes pointed to another modern great as a warning sign. Croatia’s Luka Modric, still orchestrating games at 40, has also reached the edge of what is realistic at the top level.
“We saw it with Croatia and Luka Modric last night at 40 years old. Central midfield at 40…”
The comparison underlines his wider point: even generational players cannot outrun time, especially in the most physically demanding roles.
Scholes also touched on Ronaldo’s competitive streak, and how the exploits of his long-time rival and the game’s new superstar will sting.
“Cristiano will be so pissed off because Lionel Messi got a hat-trick, Kylian Mbappe got two… it will be killing him.”
That pride, that obsession with numbers and status, has driven Ronaldo for two decades. It may now be complicating Portugal’s present.
Martinez caught in the middle
Scholes insists his sympathy lies with Martinez, a coach trying to balance the needs of the team with the aura of one of football’s most famous figures.
“I feel sorry for Martinez because he’s trying to embrace it and he’s saying, ‘No, I’ve got the best goalscorer in the world’, but deep down he must know that’s hurting his team.”
That is the dilemma. Portugal possess a wealth of younger, more mobile attackers, yet the captain’s armband and the history books still belong to Ronaldo.
Houston offered an early glimpse of how that tension might shape this World Cup. The question now is not whether Ronaldo can still score, but how long Portugal can afford to build their attack around a 41-year-old centre-forward in a tournament that rarely forgives sentiment.
