World champion says Cristiano Ronaldo was “boycotted” by his colleagues

In an interview with French radio RMC, Djorkaeff said that, if the coaching staff chose to call up Cristiano, they should have assembled the team to explore the striker's characteristics.

"If you take Cristiano Ronaldo, the team has to play for Cristiano Ronaldo, and that never happened. It was clear that he was boycotted by the team itself. They didn't give him support or put him in the best conditions," he said.

For the former France midfielder, Cristiano's style of play has been known for many years and it would not make sense to expect him to change the way he plays at this stage of his career.

"We all know Cristiano. He's always played the same way. Either you don't call him up, or you don't put him on the field. But, if you decide to take him, you need to build the team around him," he added.

Djorkaeff also criticized the stance of other Portuguese players, stating that there was excessive dependence on the number 7.

"What I didn't like in Portugal, despite all the team's talent, was seeing everyone transferring responsibility to Cristiano. At a certain point, Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes and the others also needed to take on this role. You can't always expect Cristiano to be the one to solve everything", he declared.

Portugal was eliminated after losing 1-0 to Spain in the round of 16. At 41 years old, Cristiano Ronaldo played in what may have been his last World Cup and ended the campaign with three goals: two in the 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan, in the group stage, and another, from the penalty spot, in the 2-1 victory over Croatia, in the second stage.

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