Cristiano Ronaldo steps up again but Martínez will be wary over World Cup role | John Duerden

C ristiano Ronaldo will report for World Cup duty fresh from winning his first major trophy since moving to Saudi Arabia in 2022, after Al-Nassr became Saudi Pro League champions last Thursday. That’s the good news for Portugal’s coach, Roberto Martínez, but there is more to think about when it comes to his biggest name. Although the domestic season ended all smiles for Ronaldo, five days earlier there was much doom and gloom around his club. Al-Nassr lost the final of the AFC Champions League Two, Asia’s Europa League, to Gamba Osaka of Japan. It was a poor performance and Ronaldo came in for special criticism. Not only did clips of his lack of movement, lack of pressing, missed chances and blocked shots circulate on social media, there was disappointment that, almost as soon as the final whistle went, he left the field, missing the medals’ and trophy presentations. It was hardly the behaviour of a model professional supposed to be the face of football in Saudi Arabia. Rarely had opinion in the country been so negative and it may have made for worrying reading for Martínez. “The team’s interest should come above everything else, and [Al-Nassr’s coach Jorge] Jesus has been favouring Ronaldo since the start of the season,” the club’s former defender Hussein Abdulghani said. “He is a burden on the team and only scores from set pieces. “Ronaldo is playing due to favouritism and offers nothing. …