Cristiano Ronaldo branded a 'fool' for humiliating Chelsea star

Former Liverpool and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann was far from impressed by a brilliant piece of skill from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Dietmar Hamann has branded Cristiano Ronaldo as a ‘fool’ for humiliating Antonio Rudiger in Portugal’s 4-2 defeat to Germany in Euro 2020.

Ronaldo pulled off a superb bit of skill by lifting the ball over the Chelsea defender and finding Bruno Fernandes with a simple backheel flick without even so much as a glance at the ball.

It came just moments after the Juventus star had handed Portugal a 15th-minute lead in Munich after a brilliant counterattack.

The Group of Death 💀

Ronaldo vs Rudigerpic.twitter.com/sDx5Aopifj

— My Greatest 11 (@MyGreatest11) June 19, 2021

“I think it’s nonsense,” Hamann told RTE Sport.

“He flicks the ball over, pretends he is going to catch it and backheels it across, and looks away… of course it is [amazing] and we know he can do that… I think, in a way he’s belittling the opposition.

“This is at 1-0 and I’m sitting here while you all rave about it. Yes, he is the best, with [Lionel] Messi… He looks a fool now. This is 1-0. He does look the fool.

“If you ask the German players, they’ll tell you now what they thought of it. They would have noticed that.

“I tell you now, all of them will say it may have given us an extra bit of whatever to change things.

“What is he trying to achieve? Maybe this [Germany comeback] is where it all started.”

Ronaldo taking time to do a guff on Rudiger after scoring the opening goal

The ultimate insult pic.twitter.com/5hYcockAdq

— Average Striker (@AverageStriker) June 19, 2021

Unfortunately, things soon went downhill for Portugal after Ronaldo’s brilliance. Ruben Dias and Raphael Guerreiro’s own goals handed Germany a 2-1 lead ahead of the break. Kai Havertz then scored the third goal for Joachim Low’s men before Robin Gosens added a fourth one.

Ronaldo did assist Diogo Jota to pull one back for Portugal with a 67th-minute goal, but it was too little too late.

The reigning champions next face Group F leaders France on Wednesday knowing anything less than a victory could cost them a spot in the knockout stages. Germany, meanwhile, face Hungary on the same day.